President Biden on Tuesday afternoon will speak in Virginia Beach, Va., on the subject of health care costs. The president is expected to use the event as an opportunity to contrast his administration’s goals for health care policy with those that may come from the Republican-led House.
Although Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has, like Biden, stated that Social Security and Medicare will be exempt from consideration for cuts in upcoming budget negotiations, the White House has criticized Republican leaders in the House for failing to indicate where they do intend to reduce spending. Biden’s own budget is set to be released March 9.
The White House has asserted that Biden’s proposals will build on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Inflation Reduction Act, noting that the recent ACA open enrollment period tallied the most participants in the program’s 10-year history.
Local news outlets have pointed to the importance of the Hampton Roads area, which includes Virginia Beach, in Biden’s still officially undeclared reelection campaign. This metro area, the state’s second-most-populous, could go a long way toward swinging the state red or blue in 2024. In 2020, Biden came out ahead in much of the region.
For his part, Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin called on Biden not to visit the state in a Sunday appearance on Fox News. Youngkin chided the president for not visiting the site of the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, suggesting Biden change his plans and go there instead.
Biden is expected to speak on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET.
Watch the live video above.