President Obama Delivers State of the Union Address

The White House

President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union Address this evening. In starting his speech, Obama recognized Representative Gabrielle Giffords as she recovers from the recent Tucson Shooting. Obama started off his speech by calling on congress to “Not only sit together tonight, but work together tomorrow.” He then went on to discuss the state of America’s economy. “The economy is growing again” said Obama. “America still has the largest most prosperous economy in the world.”

The first issue the President discussed was that of American Innovation. President Obama proposed that we invest in Bio-Medical research and clean energy saying that both of these fields would create new jobs. He also went on to propose that America put 1 million electric cars on the roads by 2015 and also that by 2035, 80% of electricity come from clean energy. It was perhaps President Obama’s next energy proposal that received some of the most partisan applause. President Obama proposed that congress “eliminate the billions of tax payer dollars we give to oil companies.” “They are doing fine on their own” said the President.

Obama went on to discuss the education system in America. Obama stressed the importance of post secondary education. “Success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.” The President went on to propose that Race to the Top be continued and that new education reform be put in place of the No Child Left Behind Act. “Race to the top is what we should focus on as we replace No Child Left Behind with education reform that is good for our kids .” He also proposed that the United States prepare 100,000 teachers in the fields of Science, Math and Engineering. The President also sent out a personal plea to young adults who have not yet decided on a career path. “Become a teacher. Your country needs you.”

The President also discussed the matter of America’s crumbling infrastructure starting by noting that our own nation’s engineer’s had given our infrastructure a D. “We need to do better” said the President. He went on to propose that America redouble efforts to rebuild our infrastructure saying that this would also create more jobs. The President also proposed that within the next 25 years, 80% of all Americans have access to high speed rail and that in 5 years, 98% of all American’s have access to high speed internet. “This is about connecting all of American, not about dropped calls.”

The President also briefly touched on the issue of our nation’s exports saying that we need to double our exports by 2014. He went on to report that several recent trade agreements had secured several hundreds of thousands of jobs.

As expected, Health Care was discussed. President Obama said that he was “eager to work with congress” on this matter. “I am willing to work to fix a book keeping error that will bankrupt small businesses.” However, the President did comment on one particular part of the bill he would not work on. “I will not go back to the days when insurance companies could deny a person insurance because of a preexisting condition. “Lets fix what needs fixing and move forward.” said the President.

The President acknowledged the current state of our deficit and budget. “We have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in.” He went on to propose that we freeze annual domestic pay for the next 5 years saying that this would save 400 billion dollars. President Obama commented on possible cuts within our government saying that the “Secretary of Defense has cut tens of billions of dollars from areas he believes and his generals believe they can do without.” He also went on to speak about the recently extended Bush tax cuts asking Congress to repeal the tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% of Americans. President Obama also promised to veto any bill that comes to his desk with earmarks.

In his closing remarks, President Obama acknowledged the difficulties ahead that these proposals face. “It will be harder, because we will argue about everything.” said Obama. In closing, the President also said “Our success in this new world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation.”

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the Chair of the House Budget Committee, delivered the official Republican response. Representative and speculated presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, delivered a response to the State of the Union on behalf of the Tea Pary.