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President Biden Delivers Address on Economy; Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Abortion Case. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 01, 2021 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:03]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us today on INSIDE POLITICS. Hope to see you back here at this time tomorrow.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now. Have a good day.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

We are awaiting President Biden. Any minute now, he plans to address the supply chain issue and the Omicron variant. We will bring you his remarks just as soon as he begins.

The other big story we're following this hour, abortion rights hanging in the balance before the Supreme Court. These are live images right now of what's happening outside the court.

Just moments ago, oral arguments wrapped up. This is one of the most significant abortion challenges in decades, a case that could weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Justices are considering a 2018 Mississippi law that bans abortions 15 weeks after conception.

Now, it's been blocked by two federal courts. But if it is upheld by the conservative court, the impact could be profound. It could trigger similar laws limiting access to abortion in several other states.

Going to get right to CNN justice correspondent Jessica Schneider, who is live outside the Supreme Court.

Jessica, what did we hear today?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, the questioning from all six conservative justices here indicates that they could uphold this Mississippi abortion law that practically bans all abortions at 15 weeks with limited exceptions.

The question would be, though, just how far they would go. The chief justice, John Roberts, indicated that this law itself might be OK at 15 weeks, but that would alter the landscape of abortion law throughout the country. But it wouldn't completely let states ban abortion.

The other five justices, however, seemed to cast doubt on the fact that Roe v. Wade might be upheld. They might, in fact, overturn Roe v. Wade, which, of course, would drastically alter the legal landscape when it comes to abortion across the country.

Here's some questioning from key justice, Brett Kavanaugh, to Mississippi's solicitor general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, ASSOCIATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: And to be clear, you're not arguing that the court somehow has the authority to itself prohibit abortion or that this court has the authority to order the states to prohibit abortion, as I understand it, correct?

SCOTT STEWART, MISSISSIPPI SOLICITOR GENERAL: Correct, Your Honor.

KAVANAUGH: As I understand it, you're arguing that the Constitution is silent and therefore neutral on the question of abortion, in other words, that Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice on the question of abortion, but leaves the issue for the people of the states or perhaps Congress to resolve in the democratic process. Is that accurate?

STEWART: Right. We're saying it's left to the people, Your Honor.

KAVANAUGH: And so for the -- if you were to prevail, the states, majority of states, or states still could or and presumably would continue to freely allow abortion, many states, some states would be able to do that, even if you prevail, under your view; is that correct?

STEWART: That's consistent with our view, Your Honor.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: And Justice Kavanaugh later talked about the fact that some people argue, and he seem to agree with it, that the court should stay out of the abortion debate, instead leaving it to the states.

That does somewhat conflict...

CABRERA: Jessica, I got to interrupt. Let's go live to the president at the White House...

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: here in the White House.

Tomorrow, I'm going to light the National Christmas Tree to help kick off the holiday season.

Whatever you celebrate, we're looking ahead to a brighter and happier December, with an economy markedly stronger than it was last year. It's been a tough couple of years, but we have made incredible progress.

And, today, I like to speak about some of the steps we're taking to address challenges in the economy and how those actions are already starting to pay off for American families. First, however, I want to quickly reiterate what I spoke about on

Monday concerning Omicron, the variant, and the steps were taken to combat it.

As I said, this new variant is a cause for concern, but not a cause for panic. We have the best vaccines in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists. We are learning more every single day. And we will fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion.

So, let me repeat what the doctors and scientists have affirmed. The best protection against Omicron is getting a booster shot. Right now, about 135 million Americans are eligible for a booster, but only about 40 million have gotten one thus far.

If you're over 18 years of age, you got vaccinated before January -- excuse me -- June 1, go get your booster shot today. And if you're not vaccinated, now's the time get vaccinated and take your children to get vaccinated.

[13:05:03]

Every child over the age of 5 can get a safe, effective vaccination. Tomorrow, I will be putting forward the next steps that we will be taking the fight COVID this winter, not with shutdowns and lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more.

Now on to the economy.

If you watched the news recently, you might think the shelves in all our stores are empty across the country, that parents won't be able to get presents for their children on holidays -- this holiday season.

But here's the deal. For the vast majority of the country, that's not what's happening. Because of the actions the administration has taken in partnership with business and labor, retailers and grocery stores, freight movers and railroads, those shelves are going to be stocked.

And many have heard that the CEO of Walmart, who I met with this week, speaking to the steps we have taken.

He said -- and I quote -- "The combination of private enterprise and government working together has been really successful all the way through the supply chain. There's been a lot of innovation" -- end of quote.

Here's what the progress has looked like. The first thing we had to do was speed up the operations at our ports. Americans are buying more goods than ever, and a lot of those goods come through our ports; 40 percent of the good that's come into the country on the West Coast come through two ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach.

To help relieve congestion, I brought together labor and management and asked them to step up and cooperate more, to move forward in operating those ports not five days a week, 40 hours a week, but 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by adding more shifts at night and on the weekends.

Then we had to make sure that people could transport those goods from the ports to stores and homes across the country. We have broken up logjams there as well. Private sector port terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, for example, have announced that they're going to eliminate fees when truck drivers come on the port -- come into the port to pick up the containers if they do it at night or on the weekends, when roads are less congested.

Working with my administration, a major ocean carrier, the fourth largest in the world, announced on Monday a new $100 discount when containers are picked up quickly, with larger discounts for nighttime and weekend pickups.

And we announced this week that we're extending through February extra flexibility that allows truckers to drive more hours when they're transporting critical goods like gas, food, and medical supplies. Paired with the -- these important safety measures, all of them are going to help move goods more quickly and get products that people want onto the shelves all across the country.

Over the last month, the number of containers left sitting on docks blocking movement to those stores was for over eight days. Now it's down. It's down by 40 percent, which means they're heading to shelves and stores more quickly. That's an incredible success story.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have moved 16 percent more containers so far this year than last year. By working with business and labor, my administration's been able to handle the huge surge in goods moving through some of our biggest ports. And that's translated into shelves across our country being well-stocked.

You don't have to take my word for it. On Monday, I convened a group of CEOs from some of the largest retailers and grocery stores in the nation, as well as companies who work with small businesses across America, including the CEO of Walmart, as I mentioned, along with Best Buy, CVS, Samsung, Mattel, Etsy, and QVC.

My administration has been working with many of the CEOs and others to keep these goods moving through our supply chain to ensure the shelves are stocked heading into the holiday season.

The CEOs I met with reported that their inventories are up, shelves are well-stocked, and they're ready to meet consumer demand for the holidays. The CEO of Etsy represents over five million small businesses and entrepreneurs. He told me -- and I quote -- "Our survey data says there are less -- they are less concerned about supply chain challenges this year than they were last year" -- end of quote.

I have also spoken with the CEOs of UPS and FedEx, which are on track to deliver more packages than ever. Now, I can't promise that every person will get every gift they want on time. Only Santa Claus can keep that promise.

But there are items every year that sell out that are hard to find. Some of you moms and dads may remember Cabbage Patch Kids back in the '80s or Beanie Babies in the '90s or other toys that have run out at Christmastime in past years when there was no supply chain problem.

[13:10:03]

But we're heading into a holiday season in very strong shape. It's not because of luck. We averted potential crisis by figuring out what needed to get fixed, and then we brought people together to do the hard work of fixing it.

That's exactly what we're doing with the second concern I want to talk about today, prices. Here are a few things you should know. Just about every country in the world is grappling with higher prices right now as they recover from the pandemic.

In the United Kingdom, price increases have hit a 10-year high, in Germany, a 28-year high. In Canada, price increases are the highest they have been since the '90s. This is a worldwide challenge, a natural byproduct of a world economy shut down by the pandemic as it comes back to life.

Prices are still out of sunk -- excuse me -- prices are still out of sync as the world comes back. But as we continue to overcome these obstacles, the more price pressures will ease. But I have not been content to sit back and wait.

I have used every tool available to address the price increases, and it's working. Take gas prices. Last week, I announced the largest ever release from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase the supply of oil and help bring down prices. I brought together other nations to continue and contribute to this solution. India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom all joined us.

They all agreed to release additional oil from the reserves. And China may be doing so as well. This worldwide effort we're leading will not solve the problem of high gas prices overnight, but it has been making a difference.

Over the last month, likely due in part to the anticipation of this action, we have seen the price of oil and gasoline on the wholesale markets come down significantly. In fact, since the end of October, the average weekly price of gasoline in the wholesale market has fallen by about 10 percent.

That's a drop of 25 cents per gallon. Those savings should reach the American people very soon, and it can't happen fast enough. And I have asked the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether potentially illegal and anti-competitive behavior in the oil and gas industry is causing higher prices to be maintained for consumers, when the overall cost of oil is down.

We can also ensure that the American people are paying a fair price for gas.

So, let's take a step back and take stock of where our economy is. Wages are up. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we have delivered significant tax cuts for families raising kids. Tax cuts and rising wages for middle-class families mean Americans, on average, have about $100 more in their pockets every month and -- than they did last year, about $350 more each month than they did before the pandemic, even after accounting for inflation.

Let me repeat that. Even after accounting for rising prices, the typical American family has more money in their pockets than they did last year or the year before that. In fact, we're the only leading economy in the world where household income and the economy as a whole are stronger than they were before the pandemic.

You know, there are other signs of strength too. The number of small businesses is up by 30 percent compared to before the pandemic. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we have cut child poverty in America by more than 40 percent. Think about that. Millions of children who spent last Christmas in poverty will not bear that burden this holiday season.

And the Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, described it yesterday that it is -- quote -- "a profound economic and moral victory for our country" -- end of quote.

Since I took office, we have had record job creation, 5.6 million new jobs since January 20 of this year. The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 percent. We're seeing more new small businesses, higher wages, and more disposable income, fewer children in poverty, fewer people getting unemployment checks.

None of this was inevitable. It was because of the American Rescue Plan, which virtually every Democrat in Congress voted for and every Republican voted against. It was because of the hard work my administration has done to try to solve the challenges in our economy, instead of just pointing fingers and complaining.

Now, now it's time to build on our success and cut costs further for families. That's what my Build Back Better plan does. It will lower out-of-pocket costs for child care, eldercare, housing, college, health care, and prescription drugs. These are the biggest costs that most families face.

In fact, a new independent analysis released today showed that my Build Back Better plan would mean $7, 400 in tax cuts and savings for the typical family with four kids -- excuse me -- the typical family of four with two kids.

[13:15:12]

Seventeen Nobel laureate -- winners in -- Nobel economic winners -- have written a letter affirming that this bill will reduce inflationary pressure in the economy. Two of the leading rating agencies on Wall Street confirmed this month that my plan will not, will not add to inflationary pressures.

In fact, they will -- quote -- "take the edge off of inflation." Now my Republican friends are talking a lot about prices, but they're lined up against my Build Back Better plan, which would go right at the problem for rising costs for families. Why is that? I don't want to speculate on anyone's motive, but it's always easier to complain about a problem than to try to fix it.

One Republican senator even said that rising prices were -- quote -- "a gold mine" -- end of quote -- for Republicans politically. Imagine rooting for a higher cost for American families just to score a few political points.

The fact is, the Build Back Better plan is fiscally responsible. It's the first major piece of legislation in more than a decade that is not only fully paid for, but will generate more than $100 billion in deficit reduction. It fully covers the cost of its investments by making the largest corporations and the richest Americans pay a little more in taxes.

Think about that, because that's a tradeoff worth making, in my opinion, having those who have done very well pay their fair share in order to provide a little breathing room for millions of American families.

But my critics don't seem to agree. They have a lot of speeches about high prices, supply chain, and other challenges we're facing, but they don't offer any answers. So they're just doing the no-vote. That's their plan, vote no.

But what does that mean? What does a no-vote mean on this bill, not on cable news, not on FOX, not in the real -- in the real world, in your life, around your kitchen table?

Well, here's what it's going to mean. It means, for millions of American families, this bill your -- that the bills you're paying right now for day care could be substantially lowered, capped at 7 percent of your income. But Republicans said, no, pay more.

It means the bills you're paying now to take care of your elderly parent could have been lower, a lot lower. But Republicans said, no, don't vote for this bill. Pay more.

It means the cost of your prescription drugs could have been lower, a lot lower. Republicans think that those 200,000 children, for example, who need regular doses of insulin should continue to pay as much as $1,000 a month, instead of $35 a month. Think of that.

It not only affects the health of a child and the family, but imagine you're being a parent and not being able to afford $1,000 a month. Not only it risks the health of your child, but it robs you of your dignity. The list goes on.

But the point's the same. What I propose is a way to lower some of the most difficult costs families have to pay every month by asking big corporations -- 40 of the Fortune 500 companies paid zero in taxes, making $40 billion in the process -- and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes.

Look, remember, we're in a situation, as far as Republicans are concerned, they'd rather the bills at your kitchen table be higher so the tax bills of corporate conference rooms and big mansions can be lower. In this case, let me tell you something. Nothing would be more

expensive for American families than a no-vote on the Build Back Better plan. I believe we simply can't afford to do nothing and wait and see what happens.

In the moments we face today, that just isn't a responsible course. We live in uncertain times. Families are anxious about COVID, the economy, the cost of living. And the way to relieve that anxiety is with consistent, determined, focused action.

I started my presidency with the American Rescue Plan. Now that law is carrying our nation forward on vaccinations, boosters, keeping our schools open, and so much more. I designed it as a year-long plan, because I knew we'd have a lot of obstacles to overcome.

Next, we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, because a lot of our infrastructure is crumbling. We have to prepare ourselves to compete and win the 21st century global economy. For most of the 20th century, we led the world in significant -- by a significant margin because we invested in ourselves, not only in our roads and highways and bridges, but in our people and our families.

[13:20:08]

We built the Interstate Highway System. We invested to win the space race. We were among the first to provide access to free education beginning back in the late 1800s. These decisions to invest in our country and our families were a major reason why we were able to lead the world for much of the last century.

But somewhere along the way, we stopped investing in ourselves. America is still the largest economy in the world. We still have the most productive workers and the most innovative minds in the world. But we risk losing our edge as a nation. Our infrastructure used to be the best in the world. Today, according to the World Economic Forum, we rank 13th.

And we have to invest in our greatest asset as well, our people. For example, we used to lead the world in educational achievement. Now the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks America 35 out of 37 major countries when it comes to investing in early childhood education and care.

We can't be competitive in the 21st century global economy if we continue to slide. One of the reasons I believe so firmly in this is because I know what this country can be. We have always been a nation of possibilities. We didn't become this nation we know by dreaming small.

Throughout our history, we have emerged from crisis by investing in ourselves. During and after the war, the Civil War, we built the Transcontinental Railroad, uniting America. During the Cold War, we built the Interstate Highway System, transforming the way Americans were able to live their lives.

And now we will build the economy for the 21st century. I truly believe that, 50 years from now, when historians look back on this moment, they're going to say this was the beginning of the moment when America won the competition for the 21st century.

I think that's what we're going to see happen, God willing.

May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What's your level of concern that the new variant will end up exacerbating the very issues on supply chains your team has been working on the last several months?

BIDEN: Well, look, you know me. I'm an optimist.

What we have seen so far does not guarantee that's the outcome. As a matter of fact, we're going to know in the next several weeks that just not only how transmissible the disease is, but how extensive it is, how dangerous it is, and what damage it does, and, most importantly, whether the vaccines we have are capable of dealing with this virus, particularly if the boosters we're trying to get everyone to get.

So, I think the jury's still out. I think it's a little early to make that judgment. But am I concerned? Of course I am, until we get the final answers.

I will take a couple more questions.

Yes?

QUESTION: Mr. President, what is your reaction? The Supreme Court heard the abortion case today. The justices signaled that they're on the verge of major changes to abortion law in the United States.

Do you have any plans to codify the law? What is your reaction to that?

BIDEN: Well, first of all, I haven't -- I didn't see any of the debate today, the presentation today.

And I support Roe v. Wade. I think it's the rational position to take. And I continue to support it.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you so much.

There are a number of presidents from Jimmy Carter to Richard Nixon who really tried to impact inflation and supply chains and weren't able to largely do that. How confident are you that you have the tools and the power to do something about supply chains and help Americans find some relief?

BIDEN: Because of what I have seen so far based on what we have done.

This is the first time I have seen where labor and business is so ready to cooperate, because they didn't go through a period of year -- over two years almost, of the impacts of a terrible virus that has caused real damage to the world economy.

So I think people are in a different state of mind than they may have been during the Carter years, as well as the Nixon years. It's just a different world.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mark Meadows has written a book revealing that President Trump tested positive for COVID three days before your first debate.

Do you think the former president put you at risk?

BIDEN: I don't think about the former president.

Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: We just heard from President Biden giving a speech more or less about the economy and focusing really on supply chain issues, with Christmas just a few weeks away.

I want to bring in CNN business reporter Matt Egan.

Matt, the president tried to reassure Americans that he has everything under control, saying shelves are going to be stocked for the holidays. Is the supply chain problem improving?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Ana, I think it is. There are some signs of hope.

[13:25:00]

President Biden pointed to one of those signs. And that's the fact that in ports -- that containers that are stuck at ports for more than nine days, that's actually dropped by more than 40 percent since early November. He said that shelves are going to be stocked for the holiday season.

And we are hearing some optimism from business leaders. I just got out of a rarity these days, an in person press conference, and the Business Roundtable said that listen, business leaders, CEOs, they think that supply chains are starting to open up. They said that some of the trends are moving in the right direction.

But -- and this is important -- there's a lot of concern that a variant like Omicron could actually cause some backsliding. And I heard a similar sentiment from a Biden official .I sat down with the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, and I asked her, could these issues about COVID, could this new variant, could this actually worsen the supply chain situation? And she said, yes, there is that risk, because people in factories,

they work really close together. And we saw that happen with the Delta variant.

Let me read you a key quote from the commerce secretary. She said that: "It's too soon to tell. But I do think it's real, not just because of the outbreaks, but because of people's fears to show up. It's massively disruptive."

So, if people are scared to go to work, there won't -- the factories can operate at full capacity. And that means that we might not have enough computer chips, not enough cars, and that's going to raise prices on everyday Americans.

Ana, I think all of this is just another reminder of how COVID is not over. And you're not going to really get inflation or the supply chain situation under control until COVID is under control.

CABRERA: Right. And we have this new variant, Omicron, that has just dangled more uncertainty into everything.

And we heard Phil Mattingly from CNN ask the president after his remarks a question about the impact of Omicron on the supply chain. And he did acknowledge, yes, I'm very concerned.

So, we're learning more every day about COVID and the economy continues to have twists and turns. Thank you, Matt, for being there for us to bring us the facts.

As we talk now about Omicron and the impact it could have on you at home, the CDC is now looking to strengthen testing requirements for international arrivals, as well as demanding the names of certain passengers. We will talk more about that.

Plus, a shocking revelation from former President Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. An excerpt from his new book says Trump tested positive for COVID three days before a debate with Biden.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay right there.

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