WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden praised the sacrifice of generations of American soldiers who died fighting for their country by commemorating Memorial Day with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Biden was joined by First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’s husband Douglas Emhoff for the 155th National Memorial Day celebration. He had a moment of contemplation in front of the crown, which was adorned with flowers and a red, white, and blue bow, and then bowed his head in prayer.
“We must never forget the price that was paid to protect our democracy,” Biden said later in a speech at Memorial Amphitheater. «We must never forget the lives these flags, flowers and marble markers represent.»
«Every year we remember it,» he said. «And every year it never gets easier.»
Federal holiday Monday in honor America’s Fallen Service Members It came a day after Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement on a deal that would increase the US debt limit and now awaits congressional approval.
As it stands, the deal keep non-defense spending more or less stable in fiscal year 2024 and increase it by 1% the following year. The measure would allow defense growth of 3% in fiscal 2024, to $886 billion, and then another 1% in fiscal 2025, to $895 billion.
Biden is proud that his Democratic administration has overseen a time of relative peace for the US military after two decades of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It’s been nearly 21 months since Biden ended America’s longest-running war in Afghanistan, fulfilling a campaign promise to end a 20-year «eternal war» that cost the life of over 2,400 US service members.
However, the war in Afghanistan ended in deadly and chaotic fashion under Biden’s watch in August 2021, with critics criticizing the administration’s handling of the evacuation of some 120,000 US, Afghan and other citizens as poorly planned and poorly executed.
Last month, the Biden administration released a review of the final days of the war, placing the blame largely on his Republican predecessor, President Donald Trump, and claiming that Biden was «severely constrained» by Trump’s decisions.
The United States now finds itself leading a coalition of allies pouring tens of billions of dollars in military and economic aid into Ukraine as it tries to repel the russian invasionthat seems to have no end in sight.
While making it clear that he does not want US troops to enter the conflict, Biden has maintained that he sees the Russian effort to seize the territory as an affront to international norms and has vowed to help Kiev win by sending artillery, tanks and drones and recently agreeing to allow allies train the Ukrainian army on American F-16 aircraft.
Ahead of Monday’s ceremony at the Arlington, Virginia Cemetery, the Bidens hosted a White House breakfast for members of veterans’ organizations, military service organizations and military families, surviving families of fallen US troops, senior Department officials Defense and other administration officials.
The president and first lady were scheduled to return to their home near Wilmington, Delaware, later Monday to spend the remainder of the federal holiday.