- [Paul] President Biden told Americans

he feels their pain and frustration,

facing a year of the pandemic

and the lockdowns andrestrictions to fight it.

- We all lost something,

a collective suffering,

a collective sacrifice,

a year filled with the loss of life

and the loss of living for all of us.

- [Paul] He promised some hope.

- We'll have enough vaccine supply

for all adults in Americaby the end of May.

- [Paul] With enoughcitizens getting the shots

to celebrate the 4th of July.

- Where we not only mark ourindependence as a nation,

but we begin to mark ourindependence from this virus.

- Biden encouraged Americansthough to keep wearing masks,

social distancing, andgetting the vaccinations

to beat the virus.

And he sounded frustrated

with those fighting the government,

asking Americans to do those things.

- We need to remember,

the government isn't some foreign force

in a distant capital.

No, it's us,

all of us,

We the People.

We've turned against one another.

A mask, the easiest thingto do to save lives.

Sometimes it divides us.

States pitted against one another

instead of working with each other.

- [Paul] And though calling for unity,

Biden took a couple of shotsat the Trump administration,

like how he characterizedthe earliest reactions

to COVID-19.

- We're hit with a virusthat was met with silence

and spread unchecked,

denials for days, weeks, then months.

- The president also spoke

about his administration's accomplishments

with the vaccine rollout,although critics,

including some in the major media,

say he's overstated themwhile not acknowledging

the work done by the Trump team

that led to the vaccinesin the first place.

Biden's address came after he signed

the massive $1.9 trillionCOVID relief bill

Thursday afternoon.

It'll give most Americansa $1,400 stimulus check,

but Republicans argue the bill is stuffed

with left-wing spending thathas nothing to do with COVID

while expanding the governmentand adding still more

to the exploding national debt.

Paul Strand, CBN News, Washington.