As the Biden administration prepares to issue new rules aimed at bolstering supports for those with disabilities, the president says that much more work is needed.

In a speech this week, the president said that he’s committed to improving the nation’s caregiving infrastructure.

Biden said his administration will issue rules in the coming weeks to strengthen staffing standards in nursing homes and ensure that a larger share of Medicaid payments go to home care workers.

“But that’s not going to be enough,” Biden said. “I want to do more, and we can do more.”

Biden cited the waiting list for Medicaid home and community-based services, which includes some 700,000 seniors and people with disabilities, rising costs for long-term care and the challenges facing workers who support people with disabilities.

The president said his budget proposal for next year would raise taxes for billionaires to tackle these issues head on.

“We’re going to expand Medicaid home care services and reduce that 700,000-person backlog,” Biden told family caregivers, care workers and other advocates gathered in Washington. “That’ll mean more folks can live and work in their own communities with dignity and independence. More home care workers will start getting a better pay and benefits and dignity they deserve.”

Biden is also pushing for the establishment of a national paid family and medical leave program.

Many of the proposals that Biden is championing would require action from Congress and federal lawmakers have struggled mightily in recent years to agree on spending. A deal to fund the government for the current fiscal year, which began in October, was just finalized last month and the upcoming election is likely to impose even more uncertainty going forward.

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