U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, fellow citizens:
Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that “the
Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress.”
(Applause.) “It is my task,” he said, “to report the State of the Union
-- to improve it is the task of us all.”
Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people,
there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our
brave men and women in uniform are coming home. (Applause.) After
years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six
million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years,
and less foreign oil than we have in 20. (Applause.) Our housing
market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers,
patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.
(Applause.)
So, together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say
with renewed confidence that the State of our Union is stronger.
(Applause.)
But we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans whose
hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is
adding jobs -- but too many people still can’t find full-time
employment. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs -- but
for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged.
It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of
America’s economic growth -- a rising, thriving middle class.
(Applause.)
It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this
country -- the idea that if you work hard and meet your
responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no
matter what you look like, or who you love.
It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on
behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free
enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of
opportunity to every child across this great nation. (Applause.)
The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem.
They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue.
But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party.
(Applause.) They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we
can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so
together, and that the responsibility of improving this union remains
the task of us all.
Our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our budget --
decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery.
Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce
the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion -- mostly through spending cuts,
but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion
in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our
finances.
Now we need to finish the job. And the question is, how?
In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn’t
agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars’
worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year.
These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military
readiness. They’d devastate priorities like education, and energy, and
medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us
hundreds of thousands of jobs. That’s why Democrats, Republicans,
business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts,
known here in Washington as the sequester, are a really bad idea.
Now, some in Congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by
making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training,
Medicare and Social Security benefits. That idea is even worse.
(Applause.)
Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of
health care for an aging population. And those of us who care deeply
about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms --
otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we
need for our children, and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement
for future generations.
But we can’t ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the
entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the
wealthiest and the most powerful. (Applause.) We won’t grow the middle
class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college onto
families that are already struggling, or by forcing communities to lay
off more teachers and more cops and more firefighters. Most Americans
-- Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- understand that we can’t
just cut our way to prosperity. They know that broad-based economic
growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction, with spending
cuts and revenue, and with everybody doing their fair share. And that’s
the approach I offer tonight.
On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same
amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the
reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission.
(Applause.)
Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of
health care costs. (Applause.) And the reforms I’m proposing go even
further. We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies
and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. (Applause.) We’ll bring
down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because
our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or
days spent in the hospital; they should be based on the quality of care
that our seniors receive. (Applause.) And I am open to additional
reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee
of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we
cannot keep -- but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.
(Applause.)
To hit the rest of our deficit reduction target, we should do what
leaders in both parties have already suggested, and save hundreds of
billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions for
the well-off and the well-connected. After all, why would we choose to
make deeper cuts to education and Medicare just to protect special
interest tax breaks? How is that fair? Why is it that deficit
reduction is a big emergency justifying making cuts in Social Security
benefits but not closing some loopholes? How does that promote growth?
(Applause.)
Now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform that
encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. (Applause.)
We can get this done. The American people deserve a tax code that
helps small businesses spend less time filling out complicated forms,
and more time expanding and hiring -- a tax code that ensures
billionaires with high-powered accountants can’t work the system and pay
a lower rate than their hardworking secretaries; a tax code that lowers
incentives to move jobs overseas, and lowers tax rates for businesses
and manufacturers that are creating jobs right here in the United States
of America. That’s what tax reform can deliver. That’s what we can do
together. (Applause.)
I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy. The
politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent
of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our
economy, visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans. So let’s
set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces
reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future.
And let’s do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and
scares off investors. (Applause.) The greatest nation on Earth cannot
keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to
the next. (Applause.) We can't do it.
Let’s agree right here, right now to keep the people’s government open,
and pay our bills on time, and always uphold the full faith and credit
of the United States of America. (Applause.) The American people have
worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their
elected officials cause another. (Applause.)
Now, most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of
our agenda. But let’s be clear, deficit reduction alone is not an
economic plan. (Applause.) A growing economy that creates good,
middle-class jobs -- that must be the North Star that guides our
efforts. (Applause.) Every day, we should ask ourselves three
questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How
do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And
how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?
A year and a half ago, I put forward an American Jobs Act that
independent economists said would create more than 1 million new jobs.
And I thank the last Congress for passing some of that agenda. I urge
this Congress to pass the rest. (Applause.) But tonight, I’ll lay out
additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with
the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. Let me
repeat -- nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a
single dime. It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter
government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.
(Applause.) That's what we should be looking for.
Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and
manufacturing. After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our
manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.
Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs
back from Mexico. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in
America again. (Applause.)
There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last
year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in
Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art
lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the
potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s
no reason this can’t happen in other towns.
So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these
manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Department of
Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into
global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help
create a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next
revolution in manufacturing is made right here in America. We can get
that done. (Applause.)
Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in
the best ideas. Every dollar we invested to map the human genome
returned $140 to our economy -- every dollar. Today, our scientists are
mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s. They’re
developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to
make batteries 10 times more powerful. Now is not the time to gut these
job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is the time to
reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of
the Space Race. We need to make those investments. (Applause.)
Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American
energy. After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to
control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have
in 15 years. (Applause.) We have doubled the distance our cars will
go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate
from sources like wind and solar -- with tens of thousands of good
American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever
before -- and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And
over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon
pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen.
But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to
combat climate change. (Applause.) Now, it’s true that no single event
makes a trend. But the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all
come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods -- all
are now more frequent and more intense. We can choose to believe that
Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst
wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence.
Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science --
and act before it’s too late. (Applause.)
Now, the good news is we can make meaningful progress on this issue
while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get
together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change,
like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few
years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future
generations, I will. (Applause.) I will direct my Cabinet to come up
with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce
pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate
change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
Four years ago, other countries dominated the clean energy market and
the jobs that came with it. And we’ve begun to change that. Last year,
wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So
let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year --
let’s drive down costs even further. As long as countries like China
keep going all in on clean energy, so must we.
Now, in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and
greater energy independence. We need to encourage that. And that’s
why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil
and gas permits. (Applause.) That’s got to be part of an
all-of-the-above plan. But I also want to work with this Congress to
encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even
cleaner and protects our air and our water.
In fact, much of our new-found energy is drawn from lands and waters
that we, the public, own together. So tonight, I propose we use some of
our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will
drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil
for good. If a nonpartisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and
admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. Let’s take their
advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in
gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long.
I’m also issuing a new goal for America: Let’s cut in half the energy
wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years. (Applause.)
We'll work with the states to do it. Those states with the best ideas
to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient
buildings will receive federal support to help make that happen.
America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure
badly in need of repair. Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and
hire -- a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with
high-speed rail and Internet; high-tech schools, self-healing power
grids. The CEO of Siemens America -- a company that brought hundreds of
new jobs to North Carolina -- said that if we upgrade our
infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs. And that’s the attitude
of a lot of companies all around the world. And I know you want these
job-creating projects in your district. I’ve seen all those
ribbon-cuttings. (Laughter.)
So tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as
soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000
structurally deficient bridges across the country. (Applause.) And to
make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a
Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade
what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods, modern
pipelines to withstand a storm, modern schools worthy of our children.
(Applause.) Let’s prove that there’s no better place to do business
than here in the United States of America, and let’s start right away.
We can get this done.
And part of our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector.
The good news is our housing market is finally healing from the
collapse of 2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six
years. Home purchases are up nearly 50 percent, and construction is
expanding again.
But even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with
solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected. Too many
families who never missed a payment and want to refinance are being told
no. That’s holding our entire economy back. We need to fix it.
Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that would give every
responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by
refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported
it before, so what are we waiting for? Take a vote, and send me that
bill. (Applause.) Why would we be against that? (Applause.) Why
would that be a partisan issue, helping folks refinance? Right now,
overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying
their first home. What’s holding us back? Let’s streamline the
process, and help our economy grow.
These initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, housing --
all these things will help entrepreneurs and small business owners
expand and create new jobs. But none of it will matter unless we also
equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs.
(Applause.)
And that has to start at the earliest possible age. Study after study
shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does
down the road. But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are
enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents
can’t afford a few hundred bucks a week for a private preschool. And
for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool
education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. So tonight, I
propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to
every single child in America. (Applause.) That's something we should
be able to do.
Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can
save more than seven dollars later on -- by boosting graduation rates,
reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. In states that
make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like Georgia or
Oklahoma, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math
at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable
families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and
make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.
Let’s give our kids that chance. (Applause.)
Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path
to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating
their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree
from one of our community colleges. So those German kids, they're ready
for a job when they graduate high school. They've been trained for the
jobs that are there. Now at schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a
collaboration between New York Public Schools and City University of New
York and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an
associate's degree in computers or engineering.
We need to give every American student opportunities like this. (Applause.)
And four years ago, we started Race to the Top -- a competition that
convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher
standards, all for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each
year. Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s
high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a
high-tech economy. And we’ll reward schools that develop new
partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus
on science, technology, engineering and math -- the skills today’s
employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and
will be there in the future.
Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need some
higher education. It’s a simple fact the more education you’ve got, the
more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the
middle class. But today, skyrocketing costs price too many young people
out of a higher education, or saddle them with unsustainable debt.
Through tax credits, grants and better loans, we’ve made college more
affordable for millions of students and families over the last few
years. But taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher and
higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep
costs down, and it’s our job to make sure that they do. (Applause.)
So tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so that
affordability and value are included in determining which colleges
receive certain types of federal aid. (Applause.) And tomorrow, my
administration will release a new “College Scorecard” that parents and
students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria -- where
you can get the most bang for your educational buck.
Now, to grow our middle class, our citizens have to have access to the
education and training that today’s jobs require. But we also have to
make sure that America remains a place where everyone who’s willing to
work -- everybody who’s willing to work hard has the chance to get
ahead.
Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of
striving, hopeful immigrants. (Applause.) And right now, leaders from
the business, labor, law enforcement, faith communities -- they all
agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
(Applause.) Now is the time to do it. Now is the time to get it done.
Now is the time to get it done. (Applause.)
Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the
progress my administration has already made -- putting more boots on the
Southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal
crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.
Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned
citizenship -- a path that includes passing a background check, paying
taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back
of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. (Applause.)
And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut
waiting periods and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and
engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy. (Applause.)
In other words, we know what needs to be done. And as we speak,
bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a
bill, and I applaud their efforts. So let’s get this done. Send me a
comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will
sign it right away. And America will be better for it. (Applause.)
Let’s get it done. Let’s get it done.
But we can’t stop there. We know our economy is stronger when our
wives, our mothers, our daughters can live their lives free from
discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic
violence. Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act that
Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. And I now urge the
House to do the same. (Applause.) Good job, Joe. And I ask this
Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their
efforts, and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year.
(Applause.)
We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work
with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum
wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we put in place, a
family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the
poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this
Congress raised the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs
even higher.
Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one
who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the
federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. (Applause.) We should be able to
get that done. (Applause.)
This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working
families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food
bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For
businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money
in their pockets. And a whole lot of folks out there would probably
need less help from government. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have
to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has
never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I
actually agreed on last year -- let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost
of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.
(Applause.)
Tonight, let’s also recognize that there are communities in this
country where no matter how hard you work, it is virtually impossible to
get ahead. Factory towns decimated from years of plants packing up.
Inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural, where young adults are
still fighting for their first job. America is not a place where the
chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. And that’s
why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class
for all who are willing to climb them.
Let’s offer incentives to companies that hire Americans who’ve got what
it takes to fill that job opening, but have been out of work so long
that no one will give them a chance anymore. Let’s put people back to
work rebuilding vacant homes in run-down neighborhoods. And this year,
my administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns
in America to get these communities back on their feet. We’ll work
with local leaders to target resources at public safety, and education,
and housing.
We’ll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and invest. And
we’ll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrents
to marriage for low-income couples, and do more to encourage fatherhood
-- because what makes you a man isn’t the ability to conceive a child;
it’s having the courage to raise one. And we want to encourage that.
We want to help that. (Applause.)
Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America. It is
this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle
class -- that has always been the source of our progress at home. It’s
also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world.
Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who
sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with
confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and
achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda. (Applause.)
Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women.
This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan
security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that over the
next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from
Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue and by the end of next year,
our war in Afghanistan will be over. (Applause.)
Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign
Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change.
We're negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses
on two missions -- training and equipping Afghan forces so that the
country does not again slip into chaos, and counterterrorism efforts
that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates.
Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its
former self. (Applause.) It's true, different al Qaeda affiliates and
extremist groups have emerged -- from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa.
The threat these groups pose is evolving. But to meet this threat, we
don’t need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad or
occupy other nations. Instead, we'll need to help countries like
Yemen, and Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security, and help
allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali. And where
necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take
direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to
Americans. (Applause.)
Now, as we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. That's why my
administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy
framework to guide our counterterrorism efforts. Throughout, we have
kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. I recognize that in our
democracy, no one should just take my word for it that we’re doing
things the right way. So in the months ahead, I will continue to engage
Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and
prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of
checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent to
the American people and to the world. (Applause.)
Of course, our challenges don’t end with al Qaeda. America will
continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world’s most
dangerous weapons. The regime in North Korea must know they will only
achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international
obligations. Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only
further isolate them, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own
missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to
these threats.
Likewise, the leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time for a
diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding
that they meet their obligations, and we will do what is necessary to
prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)
At the same time, we’ll engage Russia to seek further reductions in our
nuclear arsenals, and continue leading the global effort to secure
nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands -- because our
ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead and meet
our obligations.
America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks.
(Applause.) Now, we know hackers steal people’s identities and
infiltrate private emails. We know foreign countries and companies
swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the
ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air
traffic control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder
why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our
economy.
And that’s why, earlier today, I signed a new executive order that will
strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing, and
developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our
privacy. (Applause.)
But now Congress must act as well, by passing legislation to give our
government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks.
This is something we should be able to get done on a bipartisan basis.
(Applause.)
Now, even as we protect our people, we should remember that today’s
world presents not just dangers, not just threats, it presents
opportunities. To boost American exports, support American jobs and
level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend to
complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership. And tonight, I’m
announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union -- because
trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of
good-paying American jobs. (Applause.)
We also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of our world
enriches us all -- not only because it creates new markets, more stable
order in certain regions of the world, but also because it’s the right
thing to do. In many places, people live on little more than a dollar a
day. So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such
extreme poverty in the next two decades by connecting more people to the
global economy; by empowering women; by giving our young and brightest
minds new opportunities to serve, and helping communities to feed, and
power, and educate themselves; by saving the world’s children from
preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free
generation, which is within our reach. (Applause.)
You see, America must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom during
this period of historic change. I saw the power of hope last year in
Rangoon, in Burma, when Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed an American President
into the home where she had been imprisoned for years; when thousands of
Burmese lined the streets, waving American flags, including a man who
said, “There is justice and law in the United States. I want our
country to be like that.”
In defense of freedom, we’ll remain the anchor of strong alliances from
the Americas to Africa; from Europe to Asia. In the Middle East, we
will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and
support stable transitions to democracy. (Applause.)
We know the process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the
course of change in countries like Egypt, but we can -- and will --
insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people. We’ll keep
the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and
support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. And
we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a
lasting peace. (Applause.)
These are the messages I'll deliver when I travel to the Middle East
next month. And all this work depends on the courage and sacrifice of
those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk –- our
diplomats, our intelligence officers, and the men and women of the
United States Armed Forces. As long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will
do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and
we will maintain the best military the world has ever known.
(Applause.)
We'll invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime
spending. We will ensure equal treatment for all servicemembers, and
equal benefits for their families -- gay and straight. (Applause.) We
will draw upon the courage and skills of our sisters and daughters and
moms, because women have proven under fire that they are ready for
combat.
We will keep faith with our veterans, investing in world-class care,
including mental health care, for our wounded warriors -- (applause) --
supporting our military families; giving our veterans the benefits and
education and job opportunities that they have earned. And I want to
thank my wife, Michelle, and Dr. Jill Biden for their continued
dedication to serving our military families as well as they have served
us. Thank you, honey. Thank you, Jill. (Applause.)
Defending our freedom, though, is not just the job of our military
alone. We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are
protected here at home. That includes one of the most fundamental right
of a democracy: the right to vote. (Applause.) When any American, no
matter where they live or what their party, are denied that right
because they can’t afford to wait for five or six or seven hours just to
cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. (Applause.)
So tonight, I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the
voting experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement. I’m
asking two long-time experts in the field -- who, by the way, recently
served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s
campaign -- to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. The American
people demand it, and so does our democracy. (Applause.)
Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little if we don’t come
together to protect our most precious resource: our children. It has
been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this
country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is
different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans -- Americans who
believe in the Second Amendment -- have come together around
common-sense reform, like background checks that will make it harder for
criminals to get their hands on a gun. (Applause.) Senators of both
parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from
buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help
to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets,
because these police chiefs, they’re tired of seeing their guys and gals
being outgunned.
Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. (Applause.) Now,
if you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals
deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a
thousand birthdays, graduations, anniversaries have been stolen from our
lives by a bullet from a gun -- more than a thousand.
One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. She was
15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a
majorette. She was so good to her friends they all thought they were
her best friend. Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington,
with her classmates, performing for her country at my inauguration. And
a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school,
just a mile away from my house.
Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, along
with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by
gun violence. They deserve a vote. They deserve a vote. (Applause.)
Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. (Applause.) The families of Newtown
deserve a vote. (Applause.) The families of Aurora deserve a vote.
(Applause.) The families of Oak Creek and Tucson and Blacksburg, and
the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence –- they
deserve a simple vote. (Applause.) They deserve a simple vote.
Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this
country. In fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts will
perfectly solve all the challenges I’ve outlined tonight. But we were
never sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to make what
difference we can, to secure this nation, expand opportunity, uphold our
ideals through the hard, often frustrating, but absolutely necessary
work of self-government.
We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans the same way
they look out for one another, every single day, usually without
fanfare, all across this country. We should follow their example.
We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu
Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, she
wasn’t thinking about how her own home was faring. Her mind was on the
20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that
kept them all safe.
We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline
Victor. When Desiline arrived at her polling place, she was told the
wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was
not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her
would get to have their say. And hour after hour, a throng of people
stayed in line to support her -- because Desiline is 102 years old.
(Applause.) And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a
sticker that read, “I voted.” (Applause.)
We should follow the example of a police officer named Brian Murphy.
When a gunman opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and Brian was
the first to arrive, he did not consider his own safety. He fought back
until help arrived and ordered his fellow officers to protect the
safety of the Americans worshiping inside, even as he lay bleeding from
12 bullet wounds. And when asked how he did that, Brian said, “That’s
just the way we’re made.”
That’s just the way we’re made. We may do different jobs and wear
different uniforms, and hold different views than the person beside us.
But as Americans, we all share the same proud title -- we are citizens.
It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal
status. It describes the way we’re made. It describes what we believe.
It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we
accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations,
that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well
into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as
citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great
chapter of our American story.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless these United States of America. (Applause.)
