Blueprint for an America Built to Last

"Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we're in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren't so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded."

— Barack Obama, 2012 State of the Union

Photo of President Obama speaking at the 2012 State of the Union

Boosting Manufacturing
American-Made Energy
College Affordability

Tax Reform: President Obama is proposing tax credit for companies that bring jobs back to the United States, and he's asking Congress to create a new credit for businesses that invest in communities that affected by job loss. He's also pushing to extend tax credits to drive nearly $20 billion of investment in domestic clean energy manufacturing and a provision that allows companies to expense the full cost of their investments in equipment.

Trade Enforcement: President Obama won't stand by while foreign competitors refuse to play by the same rules as the United States. The Commerce Department is currently pursuing a wide range of trade enforcement actions, and the President is proposing to create a new Trade Enforcement Unit that will investigate trading practices in countries that attempt to circumvent international law.

Rebuilding America: For too many companies, the state of American infrastructure creates a competitive disadvantage. We need to rebuild roads and upgrade bridges. We need to retrofit our electrical grid and expand access to high-speed broadband. And to pay for that construction, the President offered a commonsense proposal -- use the money we’ll save by ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Half the money would go to pay down the deficit, the rest to rebuilding America.

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An All-of-the-Above Strategy: President Obama is committed to an all-of-the-above strategy for securing America's energy future. That means expanding domestic production of natural gas and oil, improving the efficiency of our cars and trucks, and making the long-term investments in alternatives to oil to provide American families the choices we all deserve.

Committing to Clean Energy: President Obama is calling for a clean energy standard that requires utility companies to produce a larger percentage of their electricity from clean sources. He’s also creating targeted tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing and opening public lands for use by clean energy technologies, and powering the U.S. military with renewable energy.

Developing More American Oil and Natural Gas: The United States is the world’s leading producer of natural gas, and we have a nearly 100-year supply of it. President Obama has directed his administration to safely develop this fuel source. President Obama has also directed the Department of Interior to finalize a national offshore energy plan that makes 75 percent of our potential offshore resources available for development.

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Reforming Student Aid: President Obama wants to change the way that federal money is awarded to colleges in order to reward schools that do the most to provide students with good long-term value.

Race to the Top for Higher Education: President Obama wants to create a $1 billion investment to entice state governments to revamp the structure of state financing for higher education, maintain adequate levels of funding for colleges and universities, and help kids graduate on time.

First in the World Competition: President Obama is looking to invest $55 million in individual colleges and nonprofits that are working to establish or scale up new programs that boost productivity and enhance quality on campuses.

Better Information for Families: The Obama administration will create a College Scorecard that helps students choose a school that offers the education they want at a price they can afford, push colleges to complete a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet to make it easier for families to compare college financial aid packages, and begin collecting earnings and employment information for colleges and universities.

Additional Federal Support: In the State of the Union, the President called on Congress to keep interest rates low for 7.4 million young people who take advantage of student loans (If Congress doesn't act, the interest rates for subsidized Stafford student loans will increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1), make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent, and double the number of work-study jobs over the next five years.

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