Remarks
by the President in the State of the Union Address
February
12, 2013
U.S.
Capitol, Washington, D.C.
9:15
P.M. EST
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.)
END
10:16
P.M.
