Biden condemns white supremacy; urges passage of anti-AAPI hate crimes bill

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

President Biden delivers his speech with Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi applauding behind him.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated April 29, 12:30 pm PDT.

In his first speech in front of the joint Houses of Congress, President Biden once again emphasized his determination to battle the racism and violence against Asian Americans.

"With the plans I outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues American life in many other ways," said Biden. "A chance to deliver real equity.

"Good jobs and good schools. Affordable housing. Clean air and clean water. Being able to generate wealth and pass it down through generations. Real opportunities in the lives of more Americans – Black, white, Latino, Asian American, Native American.

"I also want to thank the Senate for voting 94—1 to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from the vicious hate crimes we’ve seen this past year – and for too long," continued the President.

"I urge the House to do the same and send that legislation to my desk as soon as possible."

Last week, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill 94-1, which was authored by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hi,  with amendments.

The Democratic-majority House of Representatives will look at the bill next month where it will likely pass. If the House approves the Senate version, the measure will go to Biden's desk.  If the House adds its own amendments or rejects the Senate amendments, the bill will go a joint committee to write up a compromise measure.

Because of the COVID-19 health restrictions, only 200 guests were allowed tin the chamber to hear Biden's speech. However, Biden was also speaking to the millions of Americans watching the speech on television.

Recalling the Jan. 6 coup attempt, where insurrectionists carried Confederate and Nazi banners into the Capitol, Biden minced no words, when he said:  

"White supremacy is terrorism, and we're not going to ignore that either. My fellow Americans, look, we have to come together to heal the soul of this nation.” 

Biden has taken a hard stance against the white supremacist movement that the Donald Trump coddled and even encouraged.

Federal law enforcement and analysts within the Department of Homeland Security including the FBI warn that the threat from white supremacist organizations that figured prominently in the Jan. 6 attack will remain a persistent threat in the country in the coming years.

Like other speeches before Congress by other Presidents in recent years, the partisanship of the Congressional members was plainly evident. Democrats repeatedly gave standing ovations while Republicans mainly sat on their hands.

A CBS poll reported that 85% of those voters who watched the speech liked what Biden had to say.

Biden began his speech by acknowledging the two powerful women sitting behind him. "Madame Speaker.  Madame Vice President," referring to  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris.

"No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time," he said to applause.

RELATED: Kamala Harris had a message for the AAPI communities

In his speech, Biden recounted the success of his coronavirus vaccine rollout and introduced ambitious plans to create jobs through his infrastructure initiative and reform immigration, which means undoing many of Trump's racist-based policies. 

He also made an impassioned plea to raise taxes on corporations and the richest  Americans to help pay for his ambitious $1.8 trillion "American Families Plan," which could have as big impact on the American middle-class as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

"It's time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to pay their fair share - just pay their fair share," Biden said. Many of the countryi's corporations and rich pay zero taxes because of tax loopholes that Biden want's to tackle.

“I am so grateful to President Biden for giving voice to the pain in the Asian American community in tonight’s speech,” said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“Coming in the midst of a pandemic and recession, the President’s first address to a joint session of Congress is one I know many Americans are paying attention to. And so to have the President use this platform to help call attention to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes we have seen over the past year, and what we can do to stop it, is significant," she said in a statement after the speech.

"The most important step in ending this bigotry and violence is to put an end to state-led xenophobia and urge communities to come together in support of each other, which is precisely what President Biden did tonight by calling out hate speech and calling for unity. And it shows that, after years of being largely invisible, the Asian American community’s needs and fears are being heard at the highest level." 

For this year’s speech, Chu invited Robert Peterson, the son of Yong Ae Yue, one of the eight people killed by a gunman who targeted three Asian-owned spas in Georgia last month, to be her virtual guest.

"I believe this is a time for all Americans to come together to fight bias and racial violence whenever we see it,” said Peterson. “I so appreciate President Biden addressing the hate against the AAPI community and challenging all of us to see humanity in one another. 

"With additional protections for Asian Americans through legislation, I pray that no one will ever have to deal with the horrible murder of my mother that I did simply because of who she was and where she worked."