Fact check on the state of President Biden in 2023

On Tuesday, February 7, President Joe Biden delivers his second State of the Union address to a divided Congress with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and Democrats the Senate. Biden is expected to address some of the most pressing issues facing Americans at home and abroad, including the uncertain economic climate, inflation, gun violence and the war in Ukraine. In addition, he is likely to discuss his victories of the past year, including the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which launched historic climate initiatives.

The VERIFY team is verifying claims from Biden’s address.

Watch the State of the Union live here.

This article will be updated as facts are checked.

President Biden: “The unemployment rate [is] by 3.4%, at least for 50 years.”

Yes, the current unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 50 years.

The unemployment rate is measured US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January 2023, the unemployment rate was 3.4%, the last time it was this low 54 years ago in May 1969.

Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, told VERIFY that unemployment is at record lows in part because of the financial support that has been provided since the pandemic recession. The The US government spent at least 5.2 trillion to combat COVID-19 and its economic consequences.

Bivens said unemployment has also been held back by the shrinking workforce since the pandemic. The the employment rate of the population in 2022 was lower than before the pandemic.

President Biden: “We capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare.”

Yes, the cost of insulin is capped at $35 per month for Medicare patients.

The Law on reducing inflation capped insulin prices for Medicare patients at $35 per month, but not for people with private insurance.

More than 63 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, and one in three Medicare patients has diabetes mellitusaccording to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Casey Decker, Kelly Jones, Meg Law, Trevin Smith, Bryce Robinson, Eleni Hosak, Lindsay Claiborne and Sarah Roth contributed to this report.