President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)
As President Joe Biden’s final days in the White House wind down and he prepares to deliver his farewell address to the nation Wednesday evening, Democratic Party leaders have shared a compilation of numbers that they say highlight some of the administration’s key policy successes and their impacts in North Carolina.
“As President Biden leaves office, North Carolina is stronger than ever with low unemployment, new caps on prescription drug costs, and billions of dollars canceled in student loan debt for North Carolinians,” Democratic National Committee chairperson Jaime Harrison said in a statement.
The statement highlighted the following three categories:
Economic gains
- North Carolina’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.6 percent when Biden took office to 3.7 percent in November 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. There were about 522,400 jobs created since the start of the administration, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Private companies have allocated $49 billion toward investing in clean energy and manufacturing in the state. Toyota is contributing to one of the largest investments in North Carolina history in Liberty, while Vinfast has broken ground on an electric vehicle plant that will lead to 7,500 jobs in Chatham County.
- Additionally, the Biden administration announced $12.7 billion in public infrastructure investment in North Carolina. Projects include grants for airports and highways.
Health care progress
- North Carolina’s Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollment increased from 505,000 in 2020 to 958,000, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, North Carolinians are benefiting from a national cap on insulin at $35 per month, a $2,000 cap on yearly out-of-pocket prescription costs, and Medicare negotiations for common drugs.
- The state’s Medicare Expansion program began in December 2023 and now covers more than 600,000 North Carolinians, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
Higher education
- The administration led efforts to cancel $4.8 billion in student debt for about 124,000 North Carolinians, according to the Department of Education.
Biden will deliver his farewell remarks in an Oval Office speech that’s scheduled for 8:00 pm eastern time. The speech is expected to last approximately 20 minutes and will be carried by all major television networks and cable news channels.