Biden will pitch a $1.8T plan that includes free universal pre-K, two years paid college tuition, 12 weeks of family leave and extended tax cuts for low and middle-income workers in his first address to Congress tonight

 President Joe Biden will call for free universal pre-K, two years of paid community college, a national family leave program and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit in his address to the nation on Wednesday night.

It's all part of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, his proposal for one of the biggest social programs in US history, which the White House calls an investment in 'human infrastructure.'

In his joint address to Congress, his most high-profile speech since his inauguration, Biden will lay out his sweeping plan that outlines billions for in social programs, including college tuition for Dreamers, expanded child care options, an increase in programs that combat childhood hunger, and more aid for minority-serving institutions.

It will be paid for - in part - by a tax on the rich and more enforcement on  corporations, which the administration says will raise $700 billion over 10 years.

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President Joe Biden will pitch free universal pre-K, two years of paid community college, a national family leave program and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit as part of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan

The White House argued the 10-year plan is worth the money, claiming it will yield significant future economic returns. 

'There is a wealth of economic research that shows that the investments proposed in the American Families Plan will yield significant economic returns, boosting productivity and economic growth, producing larger more productive and healthier workforce on a sustained basis, and generating savings to state and the federal states and the federal government,' a senior administration official told reporters on a call Tuesday night previewing the plan.

Republicans are likely to oppose the proposal out of the gate while some Democrats will complain about what it lacks, such as a proposal to cut prescription drug prices, an issue of particular importance to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will help shepherd the massive package through Capitol Hill.

It's unclear how long it would take to move the massive legislation through Congress nor what it may look like in its final form. Democrats control both chambers but have a narrow margin in the House and the Senate is evenly divided. 

'We would like to see it passed as soon as possible,' a White House official said. Some items the administration can do through executive power, such as their desire to increase Pell grants, but others will need congressional approval.

As part of his plan, Biden will specifically call for $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three and four year olds. The administration claims it will benefit 5 million kids and save the average family $13,000.

He'll also call for $109 billion for two years universal free community college.  That money will apply to Dreamers, young illegals who were brought to the US as children by their parents. Students will the option to use the funds for three or four years if they cannot do fulltime enrollment.

The plan will also increase Pell grants, invest in minority colleges and universities and expand teacher training.

Also in the proposal is $225 billion for child care, which is specifically targeted to women, who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 1.5 million  moms of school-aged children dropped out of the work force, The Wall Street Journal reported, doing so to take care of their kids when schools closed.

Low income families will have their child care costs fully covered and the White House said no household will pay more than 7% of their income on childcare. 

Biden will also propose $225 billion for a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that will guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave by year 10 of its existence. The program will provide workers up to $4,000 a month, with a minimum of two-thirds of average weekly wages replaced, rising to 80 percent for the lowest wage workers.

The president is also directing $45 billion to tackle child hunger and food insecurity, which has increased during the pandemic. More than 42 million people may experience food insecurity, including a potential 13 million children, according to Feeding America.

Bien will look to keep his expanded tax cut premiums for the Affordable Care Act and expand the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for six year olds and above and $3,600 for children under the age of six. 

The plan will cost $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in tax cuts. 

To pay for it, Biden has a four-part proposal:

• Focus on corporations and high worth individuals who may be hiding income with new disclosure requirements for large companies, businesses estates and higher income individuals, where the majority of the underreporting and tax non compliance currently is 
• Reverse the 2017 tax cuts so to raise the top marginal income tax rate on wealthy Americans to 39.6 per cent - up from 37 per cent - with a focus on those in the top one percent 
• Raise capital gains tax rates for households that earn more than $1 million a year
• He will also close a loophole known as 'step up basis' that allows the wealthy to escape taxes on accumulated gains when they leave it to their heirs but will exempt family-owned businesses and farms when given to heirs who will continue to run them

The administration is selling their tax hikes as a way to level the play field between ordinary tax-paying Americans and the wealthy who use sophisticated methods to avoid paying their faire share. 

'The president will be proposing a set of measures to make sure the wealthiest Americans pay the taxes that they owe, while also ensuring that no one making less than $400,000 per year we'll see their taxes go up,' a senior administration official said. 

The White House has stressed only the wealthy will feel the tax hikes.

Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, earlier this week emphasized the capital gains hike would affect a small number of Americans - about three-tenths of 1 per cent or about 500,000 people. 

The president and his administration will hit the road to sell the plan to the public. On Thursday, President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Georgia. Biden heads to Philadelphia on Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Baltimore Thursday and Ohio on Friday while second gentleman Doug Emhoff travels to North Carolina on Friday. 

Biden's speech to Congress on Wednesday night comes before his 100th day in office. Due to COVID limitations it will not be the traditional address Americans are used to seeing on their TV screens.

'The speech will of course look and feel different from past years,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki conceded on Tuesday.

Only 200 tickets were distributed to a chamber that usually is filled with 1,600 people. Speaker Nancy Pelosi divided the lot. She gave 40 to Democrats in the House and 40 to House Republicans with 30 going to Senate Democrats and 30 to Senate Republicans, Republican Senator John Thune, a member of party leaders, told reporters on Capitol Hill. 

Party leadership will decide how to split them up. Despite reports of a GOP boycott, several Republican senators said they plan to attend, including Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Lindsey Graham.  Among the Republican senators skipping are Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and Susan Collins.

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As part of his plan, President Biden will specifically call for $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three and four year olds

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President Biden call for $109 billion for two years universal free community college, which will apply to Dreamers, young illegals who were brought to the US as children by their parents

Biden will enter the chamber the traditional way, walking through the rear doors, down the aisle to the dais where he will make his remarks. He will wear a face mask for his walk on the House floor but remove it to give his remarks.

'The president will preserve a few traditions, including the walk down the center aisle that we have seen presidents do for many years. He will, of course, be wearing a mask for that. He'll remove the mask when he delivers his speech,' Psaki said.

Before his speech on Wednesday, Biden will meet with career staffers - men and women who were at the Capitol during the January 6th MAGA riot that left five dead and a trail of destruction through the building. 

First lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will be on hand for the socially distance speech, where people will be scattered throughout the House floor and in the guest balconies above.  

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd will represent the Cabinet. Chief Justice John Roberts will be there for the Supreme Court and General Mark Milley will be there for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.     

While his American Families Plan will be the main topic of the speech, Biden will address a range of topics, including COVID-19, police reform, and immigration.   

Police reform has returned to the forefront of public discourse in the wake of Derek Chauvin being convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.  Biden addressed the nation in the aftermath of the verdict.

Psaki said Biden supports a bill that would ban chokeholds and require that deadly force only be used as a last resort in arrests. 

That bill has passed in the House of Representatives but faces a rough time in the closely divided Senate. 

Biden is expected to address immigration reform in some fashion.

His immigration proposal - unveiled in March via Democrats on Capitol Hill - offers an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, eliminates restrictions on family-based immigration and expands worker visas. 

What is unclear is how he will address the situation on the US-Mexico border where a record number of migrants are crossing illegally. 

In March, US Custom and Border Patrol apprehended 18,656 unaccompanied minors at the southern border, a record since at least October 2009 and double February's numbers.

The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and does not include a large focus on increased border enforcement. And Biden has stopped work on Trump's border wall.

Biden tapped Vice President Harris to deal with the diplomatic aspect of the crisis. She has yet to visit the border but she does plan to visit Central America in June. She also held a virtual meeting on Monday with the president of Guatemala.

After Biden's remarks, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the GOP response.

Scott, the lone black Republican in the Senate, has taken the lead on police reform for his party. 

The senator joked to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday he was preparing for his remarks with 'lots of ice cream and cookies and sitting on the couch, hanging out a little bit.'

Actually he conceded, he has been practicing - 'a bunch.'