Biden's first joint address to Congress

President Joe Biden’s first joint address to Congress is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 28.

While presidents only deliver official State of the Union addresses after their first year in office, joint addresses to Congress serve much of the same function. 

Before the big speech, see what The State of the Union in Numbers has to say about key issues of American life. This report helps citizens measure the state of the nation by the facts and data, not rhetoric. Here’s just a preview: 

 Economy 

• At the end of 2020, 74% of small businesses reported experiencing negative effects from COVID-19. Education, accommodation and food services, health care, and arts and entertainment businesses were hit hardest.
   
• Seventy-three percent of small businesses reported receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

Crime and justice 

• The total prison population decreased 11% between the 2009 peak and 2019. Decreases in federal, California, and New York state prison populations accounted for 45% of the decline.

Federal spending

• The nation spent 91% more than it collected in revenue in fiscal year 2020, creating a $3.1 trillion deficit. The federal debt grew to $26.9 trillion, with $21 trillion of that owed to the public.      

Infrastructure 

• In 2020, the federal government spent $63 billion directly on infrastructure and granted an additional $83 billion in infrastructure funding to states.
   
• However, most infrastructure spending comes directly from state and local governments; they spent $169 billion on projects in 2018 (the most recent year data is available), not including federal transfers.

The first highway built entirely with federal money was the National Road, approved by Congress in 1806. Since then, governments at all levels have spent trillions on the networks and facilities that help the country function.

With President Biden’s infrastructure plan and a new Republican infrastructure plan in the news, USAFacts has the historical data for context on how US government spending on infrastructure has shifted and over the years.  
 

• In 2017, governments spent more than $176 billion on highways alone. Digital infrastructure accounted for 26% or $197 billion in spending that year, while social infrastructure (like schools and hospitals) accounted for 32% or $246 billion.

• Government infrastructure spending in 2017 was nearly triple the infrastructure spending of 1956 (accounting for inflation). That was the same year Congress approved the Interstate Highway System.
   
• Government transportation and water infrastructure spending as a share of GDP has dropped over the decades. In 1956, such spending made up 3.0% of US GDP. In 2017, it was 2.28%.

Learn about how much the nation spends on infrastructure annually and how priorities have changed over time.


One last fact...

Nearly 5.4 million hybrid electric vehicles and more than 1.4 million plug-in vehicles have been sold in the US since they came on the market in 1999 and 2010, respectively.