Staff Reports
President Joe Biden made an appearance at Union Station in Washington, D.C., where he championed what he referred to as the “care economy.” He emphasized the need for increased pay for child care and senior care workers, along with a guaranteed paid leave for individuals to take care of their family members. With his usual flair for grandiosity, Biden declared, “You care workers represent the best of who we are as Americans. We look out for one another in America. We leave nobody behind.”
Biden promotes ‘care economy’ at DC’s Union Station https://t.co/x42oTAEy9E https://t.co/x42oTAEy9E
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 9, 2024
Surrounded by supporters, including individuals donning t-shirts representing the Service Employees International Union and holding signs reading “Care Can’t Wait,” Biden basked in the praise and adulation of his audience. He took the opportunity to tout his administration’s commitment to investing in child care and putting forth proposals to elevate the compensation of caregivers. According to Biden, these measures not only benefit families but also serve to bolster the economy.
The choice of Union Station for this event was particularly sentimental for Biden, as he commuted from there to Washington for 36 years as a U.S. senator. He shared with the crowd the challenges he faced as a single father after losing his wife and daughter in a tragic car accident. “I tried to figure out how I was going to raise my boys,” he reflected. “I couldn’t afford a house down here and I couldn’t afford caregiving.”
The president proceeded to depict caregivers as unsung heroes and vowed unwavering support for them, drawing inspiration from his own father’s belief that a job encompasses much more than just a paycheck. He also criticized the high cost of care and the inadequate pay of care workers, attributing these issues to the depletion of individuals’ retirement savings and their struggles to juggle caring for loved ones with maintaining employment.
In his characteristic fashion, Biden pointed fingers at Republicans for the expiration of the child tax credit, indicating a need to “expire a few of them politically” to revive it. He advocated for comprehensive changes, including guaranteed paid leave and new regulations to improve staffing standards at nursing homes and offer home care workers a larger share of Medicaid payments. Furthermore, he proposed government-supported child care that would cost less than $10 per day per child. However, he acknowledged the need for more Democratic support in Congress to bring these ideas to fruition.
Addressing a man who momentarily disrupted his speech, Biden scattered the air with jests and authoritative remarks, all met with raucous cheers and laughter from the crowd. “I’m not messing around with him,” he declared. “He looks like he could take me.”
President Biden rallied his faithful followers at Union Station, where he championed his vision for the “care economy” and labeled it as an essential pillar of American values.
