Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process is to continue in effect beyond January 23, 2015.

The crisis with respect to grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process that led to the declaration of a national emergency on January 23, 1995, has not been resolved. Terrorist groups continue to engage in activities that have the purpose or effect of threatening the Middle East peace process and that are hostile to United States interests in the region. Such actions continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process and to maintain in force the sanctions against them to respond to this threat.

BARACK OBAMA

Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address | January 20, 2015

U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.

9:10 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
 
We are 15 years into this new century.  Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world.  It has been, and still is, a hard time for many. 
 
But tonight, we turn the page.  Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.  (Applause.)  Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis.  More of our kids are graduating than ever before.  More of our people are insured than ever before.  (Applause.)  And we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years.  (Applause.)
 
Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over.  (Applause.)  Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Today, fewer than 15,000 remain.  And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9/11 Generation who has served to keep us safe.  (Applause.)  We are humbled and grateful for your service.
 
America, for all that we have endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this:  The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.  (Applause.)
 
At this moment -- with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, booming energy production -- we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.  It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years and for decades to come.
 
Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?  Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?  (Applause.)
 
Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing?  Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet?
 
Will we allow ourselves to be sorted into factions and turned against one another?  Or will we recapture the sense of common purpose that has always propelled America forward?
 
In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan.  And in the months ahead, I’ll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas.  So tonight, I want to focus less on a checklist of proposals, and focus more on the values at stake in the choices before us.
 
It begins with our economy.  Seven years ago, Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis were newlyweds.  (Laughter.)  She waited tables.  He worked construction.  Their first child, Jack, was on the way.  They were young and in love in America.  And it doesn’t get much better than that.  “If only we had known,” Rebekah wrote to me last spring, “what was about to happen to the housing and construction market.” 
 
As the crisis worsened, Ben’s business dried up, so he took what jobs he could find, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time.  Rebekah took out student loans and enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career.  They sacrificed for each other.  And slowly, it paid off.  They bought their first home.  They had a second son, Henry.  Rebekah got a better job and then a raise.  Ben is back in construction -- and home for dinner every night.
 
“It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote, “what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.”  We are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.
 
America, Rebekah and Ben’s story is our story.  They represent the millions who have worked hard and scrimped, and sacrificed and retooled.  You are the reason that I ran for this office.  You are the people I was thinking of six years ago today, in the darkest months of the crisis, when I stood on the steps of this Capitol and promised we would rebuild our economy on a new foundation.  And it has been your resilience, your effort that has made it possible for our country to emerge stronger.
 
We believed we could reverse the tide of outsourcing and draw new jobs to our shores.  And over the past five years, our businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs.  (Applause.) 
 
We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet.  And today, America is number one in oil and gas.  America is number one in wind power.  Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008.  (Applause.)  And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save about $750 at the pump.  (Applause.) 
 
We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world.  And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record.  Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high.  More Americans finish college than ever before.  (Applause.) 
 
We believed that sensible regulations could prevent another crisis, shield families from ruin, and encourage fair competition.  Today, we have new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, and a new consumer watchdog to protect us from predatory lending and abusive credit card practices.  And in the past year alone, about 10 million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage.  (Applause.) 
 
At every step, we were told our goals were misguided or too ambitious; that we would crush jobs and explode deficits.  Instead, we’ve seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years.  (Applause.)  This is good news, people.  (Laughter and applause.)
 
So the verdict is clear.  Middle-class economics works.  Expanding opportunity works.  And these policies will continue to work as long as politics don’t get in the way.  We can’t slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns.  We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system.  And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it.  It will have earned my veto.  (Applause.) 
 
Today, thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives.  Wages are finally starting to rise again.  We know that more small business owners plan to raise their employees’ pay than at any time since 2007.  But here’s the thing:  Those of us here tonight, we need to set our sights higher than just making sure government doesn’t screw things up; that government doesn’t halt the progress we’re making.  We need to do more than just do no harm.  Tonight, together, let’s do more to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity for every American.  (Applause.) 
 
Because families like Rebekah’s still need our help.  She and Ben are working as hard as ever, but they’ve had to forego vacations and a new car so that they can pay off student loans and save for retirement.  Friday night pizza, that’s a big splurge.  Basic childcare for Jack and Henry costs more than their mortgage, and almost as much as a year at the University of Minnesota.  Like millions of hardworking Americans, Rebekah isn’t asking for a handout, but she is asking that we look for more ways to help families get ahead.
 
And in fact, at every moment of economic change throughout our history, this country has taken bold action to adapt to new circumstances and to make sure everyone gets a fair shot.  We set up worker protections, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid to protect ourselves from the harshest adversity.  We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the Internet -- tools they needed to go as far as their effort and their dreams will take them.
 
That’s what middle-class economics is -- the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, everyone plays by the same set of rules.  (Applause.)  We don’t just want everyone to share in America’s success, we want everyone to contribute to our success.  (Applause.)
 
So what does middle-class economics require in our time? 
 
First, middle-class economics means helping working families feel more secure in a world of constant change.  That means helping folks afford childcare, college, health care, a home, retirement.  And my budget will address each of these issues, lowering the taxes of working families and putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets each year.  (Applause.)
 
Here’s one example.  During World War II, when men like my grandfather went off to war, having women like my grandmother in the workforce was a national security priority -- so this country provided universal childcare.  In today’s economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, we need affordable, high-quality childcare more than ever.  (Applause.)
 
It’s not a nice-to-have -- it’s a must-have.  So it’s time we stop treating childcare as a side issue, or as a women’s issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us.  (Applause.)  And that’s why my plan will make quality childcare more available and more affordable for every middle-class and low-income family with young children in America -- by creating more slots and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child, per year.  (Applause.)
 
Here’s another example.  Today, we are the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers.  Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave -- 43 million.  Think about that.  And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home.  So I’ll be taking new action to help states adopt paid leave laws of their own.  And since paid sick leave won where it was on the ballot last November, let’s put it to a vote right here in Washington.  (Applause.)  Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave.  It’s the right thing to do.  It’s the right thing to do.  (Applause.)
 
Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages.  That’s why this Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work.  (Applause.)  It’s 2015.  (Laughter.)  It’s time.  We still need to make sure employees get the overtime they’ve earned.  (Applause.)  And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this:  If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it.  If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.  (Applause.)
 
Now, these ideas won’t make everybody rich, won’t relieve every hardship.  That’s not the job of government.  To give working families a fair shot, we still need more employers to see beyond next quarter’s earnings and recognize that investing in their workforce is in their company’s long-term interest.  We still need laws that strengthen rather than weaken unions, and give American workers a voice.  (Applause.)
 
But you know, things like childcare and sick leave and equal pay; things like lower mortgage premiums and a higher minimum wage -- these ideas will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families.  That’s a fact.  And that’s what all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, were sent here to do.

Second, to make sure folks keep earning higher wages down the road, we have to do more to help Americans upgrade their skills.  (Applause.)  America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free, sent a generation of GIs to college, trained the best workforce in the world.  We were ahead of the curve.  But other countries caught on.  And in a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to up our game.  We need to do more.
 
By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education -- two in three.  And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need.  It’s not fair to them, and it’s sure not smart for our future.  That’s why I’m sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college -- to zero.  (Applause.)   
 
Keep in mind 40 percent of our college students choose community college.  Some are young and starting out.  Some are older and looking for a better job.  Some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market.  Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy without a load of debt.  Understand, you’ve got to earn it.  You’ve got to keep your grades up and graduate on time. 

Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible.  I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today.  (Applause.)  Let’s stay ahead of the curve.  (Applause.)  And I want to work with this Congress to make sure those already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments so that student debt doesn’t derail anyone’s dreams.  (Applause.) 
 
Thanks to Vice President Biden’s great work to update our job training system, we’re connecting community colleges with local employers to train workers to fill high-paying jobs like coding, and nursing, and robotics.  Tonight, I’m also asking more businesses to follow the lead of companies like CVS and UPS, and offer more educational benefits and paid apprenticeships -- opportunities that give workers the chance to earn higher-paying jobs even if they don’t have a higher education.
 
And as a new generation of veterans comes home, we owe them every opportunity to live the American Dream they helped defend.  Already, we’ve made strides towards ensuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care.  We’re slashing the backlog that had too many veterans waiting years to get the benefits they need.  And we’re making it easier for vets to translate their training and experience into civilian jobs.  And Joining Forces, the national campaign launched by Michelle and Jill Biden -- (applause) -- thank you, Michelle; thank you, Jill -- has helped nearly 700,000 veterans and military spouses get a new job.  (Applause.)  So to every CEO in America, let me repeat:  If you want somebody who’s going to get the job done and done right, hire a veteran.  (Applause.)
 
Finally, as we better train our workers, we need the new economy to keep churning out high-wage jobs for our workers to fill.  Since 2010, America has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan, and all advanced economies combined.  (Applause.)
 
Our manufacturers have added almost 800,000 new jobs.  Some of our bedrock sectors, like our auto industry, are booming.  But there are also millions of Americans who work in jobs that didn’t even exist 10 or 20 years ago -- jobs at companies like Google, and eBay, and Tesla. 
 
So no one knows for certain which industries will generate the jobs of the future.  But we do know we want them here in America.  We know that.  (Applause.)  And that’s why the third part of middle-class economics is all about building the most competitive economy anywhere, the place where businesses want to locate and hire.
 
Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure -- modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet.  Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this.  So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline.  Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.  (Applause.)  Let’s do it.  Let’s get it done.  Let’s get it done.  (Applause.)
 
Twenty-first century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas.  Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages.  But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region.  That would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage.  Why would we let that happen?  We should write those rules.  We should level the playing field.  That’s why I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but are also fair.  It’s the right thing to do.  (Applause.)
 
Look, I’m the first one to admit that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype, and that’s why we’ve gone after countries that break the rules at our expense.  But 95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders.  We can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities.  More than half of manufacturing executives have said they’re actively looking to bring jobs back from China.  So let’s give them one more reason to get it done.
 
Twenty-first century businesses will rely on American science and technology, research and development.  I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine -- one that delivers the right treatment at the right time.  (Applause.)
 
In some patients with cystic fibrosis, this approach has reversed a disease once thought unstoppable.  So tonight, I’m launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes, and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier.  We can do this.  (Applause.)
 
I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community -- (applause) -- and help folks build the fastest networks so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.
 
I want Americans to win the race for the kinds of discoveries that unleash new jobs -- converting sunlight into liquid fuel; creating revolutionary prosthetics, so that a veteran who gave his arms for his country can play catch with his kids again.  (Applause.)  Pushing out into the solar system not just to visit, but to stay.  Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a reenergized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars.  And in two months, to prepare us for those missions, Scott Kelly will begin a year-long stay in space.  So good luck, Captain.  Make sure to Instagram it.  We’re proud of you.  (Applause.) 
 
Now, the truth is, when it comes to issues like infrastructure and basic research, I know there’s bipartisan support in this chamber.  Members of both parties have told me so.  Where we too often run onto the rocks is how to pay for these investments.  As Americans, we don’t mind paying our fair share of taxes as long as everybody else does, too.  But for far too long, lobbyists have rigged the tax code with loopholes that let some corporations pay nothing while others pay full freight.  They’ve riddled it with giveaways that the super-rich don’t need, while denying a break to middle-class families who do.  
 
This year, we have an opportunity to change that.  Let’s close loopholes so we stop rewarding companies that keep profits abroad, and reward those that invest here in America.  (Applause.)  Let’s use those savings to rebuild our infrastructure and to make it more attractive for companies to bring jobs home.  Let’s simplify the system and let a small business owner file based on her actual bank statement, instead of the number of accountants she can afford.  (Applause.)  And let’s close the loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top one percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth.  We can use that money to help more families pay for childcare and send their kids to college.  We need a tax code that truly helps working Americans trying to get a leg up in the new economy, and we can achieve that together.  (Applause.)  We can achieve it together. 
 
Helping hardworking families make ends meet.  Giving them the tools they need for good-paying jobs in this new economy.  Maintaining the conditions of growth and competitiveness.  This is where America needs to go.  I believe it’s where the American people want to go.  It will make our economy stronger a year from now, 15 years from now, and deep into the century ahead. 
 
Of course, if there’s one thing this new century has taught us, it’s that we cannot separate our work here at home from challenges beyond our shores. 
 
My first duty as Commander-in-Chief is to defend the United States of America.  In doing so, the question is not whether America leads in the world, but how.  When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military -- then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world.  That’s what our enemies want us to do.
 
I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership.  We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents.  That’s exactly what we’re doing right now.  And around the globe, it is making a difference.
 
First, we stand united with people around the world who have been targeted by terrorists -- from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris.  (Applause.)  We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks, and we reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we have done relentlessly since I took office to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.  (Applause.)   
 
At the same time, we’ve learned some costly lessons over the last 13 years.  Instead of Americans patrolling the valleys of Afghanistan, we’ve trained their security forces, who have now taken the lead, and we’ve honored our troops’ sacrifice by supporting that country’s first democratic transition.  Instead of sending large ground forces overseas, we’re partnering with nations from South Asia to North Africa to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten America. 
 
In Iraq and Syria, American leadership -- including our military power -- is stopping ISIL’s advance.  Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group.  (Applause.)  We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism. 
 
Now, this effort will take time.  It will require focus.  But we will succeed.  And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.  We need that authority.  (Applause.)  
 
Second, we’re demonstrating the power of American strength and diplomacy.  We’re upholding the principle that bigger nations can’t bully the small -- by opposing Russian aggression, and supporting Ukraine’s democracy, and reassuring our NATO allies.  (Applause.) 
 
Last year, as we were doing the hard work of imposing sanctions along with our allies, as we were reinforcing our presence with frontline states, Mr. Putin’s aggression it was suggested was a masterful display of strategy and strength.  That's what I heard from some folks.  Well, today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated with its economy in tatters.  That’s how America leads -- not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve.  (Applause.)
 
In Cuba, we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date.  (Applause.)  When what you’re doing doesn’t work for 50 years, it’s time to try something new.  (Applause.)  And our shift in Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere.  It removes a phony excuse for restrictions in Cuba.  It stands up for democratic values, and extends the hand of friendship to the Cuban people.  And this year, Congress should begin the work of ending the embargo.  (Applause.)
 
As His Holiness, Pope Francis, has said, diplomacy is the work of “small steps.”  These small steps have added up to new hope for the future in Cuba.  And after years in prison, we are overjoyed that Alan Gross is back where he belongs.  Welcome home, Alan.  We're glad you're here.  (Applause.)
 
Our diplomacy is at work with respect to Iran, where, for the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of nuclear material.  Between now and this spring, we have a chance to negotiate a comprehensive agreement that prevents a nuclear-armed Iran, secures America and our allies -- including Israel, while avoiding yet another Middle East conflict.  There are no guarantees that negotiations will succeed, and I keep all options on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran. 
 
But new sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails -- alienating America from its allies; making it harder to maintain sanctions; and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again.  It doesn’t make sense.  And that's why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress.  (Applause.)  The American people expect us only to go to war as a last resort, and I intend to stay true to that wisdom.
 
Third, we’re looking beyond the issues that have consumed us in the past to shape the coming century.  No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids.  (Applause.)  So we're making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. 
 
And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information.  That should be a bipartisan effort.  (Applause.)
 
If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable.  If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.
 
In West Africa, our troops, our scientists, our doctors, our nurses, our health care workers are rolling back Ebola -- saving countless lives and stopping the spread of disease.  (Applause.)  I could not be prouder of them, and I thank this Congress for your bipartisan support of their efforts.  But the job is not yet done, and the world needs to use this lesson to build a more effective global effort to prevent the spread of future pandemics, invest in smart development, and eradicate extreme poverty.
 
In the Asia Pacific, we are modernizing alliances while making sure that other nations play by the rules -- in how they trade, how they resolve maritime disputes, how they participate in meeting common international challenges like nonproliferation and disaster relief.  And no challenge -- no challenge -- poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.  (Applause.)   
 
2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record.  Now, one year doesn’t make a trend, but this does:  14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.  
I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act.  Well, I’m not a scientist, either.  But you know what, I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and at NOAA, and at our major universities.  And the best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we don’t act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration and conflict and hunger around the globe.  The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security.  We should act like it.  (Applause.) 
 
And that’s why, over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever to combat climate change, from the way we produce energy to the way we use it.  That’s why we’ve set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history.  And that’s why I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts.  I am determined to make sure that American leadership drives international action.  (Applause.) 
 
In Beijing, we made a historic announcement:  The United States will double the pace at which we cut carbon pollution.  And China committed, for the first time, to limiting their emissions.  And because the world’s two largest economies came together, other nations are now stepping up, and offering hope that this year the world will finally reach an agreement to protect the one planet we’ve got.
 
And there’s one last pillar of our leadership, and that’s the example of our values. 
 
As Americans, we respect human dignity, even when we’re threatened, which is why I have prohibited torture, and worked to make sure our use of new technology like drones is properly constrained.  (Applause.)  It’s why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world.  (Applause.)  It’s why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims, the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace.  That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  We do these things not only because they are the right thing to do, but because ultimately they will make us safer.  (Applause.)
 
As Americans, we have a profound commitment to justice.  So it makes no sense to spend $3 million per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit.  (Applause.)  Since I’ve been President, we’ve worked responsibly to cut the population of Gitmo in half.  Now it is time to finish the job.  And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down.  It is not who we are.  It’s time to close Gitmo.  (Applause.)

As Americans, we cherish our civil liberties, and we need to uphold that commitment if we want maximum cooperation from other countries and industry in our fight against terrorist networks.  So while some have moved on from the debates over our surveillance programs, I have not.  As promised, our intelligence agencies have worked hard, with the recommendations of privacy advocates, to increase transparency and build more safeguards against potential abuse.  And next month, we’ll issue a report on how we’re keeping our promise to keep our country safe while strengthening privacy.
 
Looking to the future instead of the past.  Making sure we match our power with diplomacy, and use force wisely.  Building coalitions to meet new challenges and opportunities.  Leading -- always -- with the example of our values.  That’s what makes us exceptional.  That’s what keeps us strong.  That’s why we have to keep striving to hold ourselves to the highest of standards -- our own.
 
You know, just over a decade ago, I gave a speech in Boston where I said there wasn’t a liberal America or a conservative America; a black America or a white America -- but a United States of America.  I said this because I had seen it in my own life, in a nation that gave someone like me a chance; because I grew up in Hawaii, a melting pot of races and customs; because I made Illinois my home -- a state of small towns, rich farmland, one of the world’s great cities; a microcosm of the country where Democrats and Republicans and Independents, good people of every ethnicity and every faith, share certain bedrock values.
 
Over the past six years, the pundits have pointed out more than once that my presidency hasn’t delivered on this vision.  How ironic, they say, that our politics seems more divided than ever.  It’s held up as proof not just of my own flaws -- of which there are many -- but also as proof that the vision itself is misguided, naïve, that there are too many people in this town who actually benefit from partisanship and gridlock for us to ever do anything about it.
 
I know how tempting such cynicism may be.  But I still think the cynics are wrong.  I still believe that we are one people.  I still believe that together, we can do great things, even when the odds are long.  (Applause.)
 
I believe this because over and over in my six years in office, I have seen America at its best.  I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates from New York to California, and our newest officers at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, New London.  I’ve mourned with grieving families in Tucson and Newtown, in Boston, in West Texas, and West Virginia.  I’ve watched Americans beat back adversity from the Gulf Coast to the Great Plains, from Midwest assembly lines to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard.  I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in 10 Americans call home.  (Applause.)
 
So I know the good, and optimistic, and big-hearted generosity of the American people who every day live the idea that we are our brother’s keeper and our sister’s keeper.  And I know they expect those of us who serve here to set a better example. 
 
So the question for those of us here tonight is how we, all of us, can better reflect America’s hopes.  I’ve served in Congress with many of you.  I know many of you well.  There are a lot of good people here, on both sides of the aisle.  And many of you have told me that this isn’t what you signed up for -- arguing past each other on cable shows, the constant fundraising, always looking over your shoulder at how the base will react to every decision.
 
Imagine if we broke out of these tired old patterns.  Imagine if we did something different.  Understand, a better politics isn’t one where Democrats abandon their agenda or Republicans simply embrace mine.  A better politics is one where we appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.  A better politics is one where we debate without demonizing each other; where we talk issues and values, and principles and facts, rather than “gotcha” moments, or trivial gaffes, or fake controversies that have nothing to do with people’s daily lives.  (Applause.)   
 
A politics -- a better politics is one where we spend less time drowning in dark money for ads that pull us into the gutter, and spend more time lifting young people up with a sense of purpose and possibility, asking them to join in the great mission of building America.
 
If we’re going to have arguments, let’s have arguments, but let’s make them debates worthy of this body and worthy of this country.  We still may not agree on a woman’s right to choose, but surely we can agree it’s a good thing that teen pregnancies and abortions are nearing all-time lows, and that every woman should have access to the health care that she needs.  (Applause.) 
 
Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is snatched from her child, and that it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.  I’ve talked to Republicans and Democrats about that.  That’s something that we can share.
 
We may go at it in campaign season, but surely we can agree that the right to vote is sacred; that it’s being denied to too many -- (applause) -- and that on this 50th anniversary of the great march from Selma to Montgomery and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, we can come together, Democrats and Republicans, to make voting easier for every single American.  (Applause.) 
 
We may have different takes on the events of Ferguson and New York.  But surely we can understand a father who fears his son can’t walk home without being harassed.  And surely we can understand the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the front door at the end of his shift.  (Applause.)  And surely we can agree that it’s a good thing that for the first time in 40 years, the crime rate and the incarceration rate have come down together, and use that as a starting point for Democrats and Republicans, community leaders and law enforcement, to reform America’s criminal justice system so that it protects and serves all of us.  (Applause.) 
 
That’s a better politics.  That’s how we start rebuilding trust.  That’s how we move this country forward.  That’s what the American people want.  And that’s what they deserve.
 
I have no more campaigns to run.  (Applause.)  My only agenda -- (laughter) -- I know because I won both of them.  (Applause.)  My only agenda for the next two years is the same as the one I’ve had since the day I swore an oath on the steps of this Capitol -- to do what I believe is best for America.  If you share the broad vision I outlined tonight, I ask you to join me in the work at hand.  If you disagree with parts of it, I hope you’ll at least work with me where you do agree.  And I commit to every Republican here tonight that I will not only seek out your ideas, I will seek to work with you to make this country stronger.  (Applause.) 
 
Because I want this chamber, I want this city to reflect the truth -- that for all our blind spots and shortcomings, we are a people with the strength and generosity of spirit to bridge divides, to unite in common effort, to help our neighbors, whether down the street or on the other side of the world.
 
I want our actions to tell every child in every neighborhood, your life matters, and we are committed to improving your life chances as committed as we are to working on behalf of our own kids.  (Applause.)  I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we’re a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen -- man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino, Asian, immigrant, Native American, gay, straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability.  Everybody matters.  I want them to grow up in a country that shows the world what we still know to be true:  that we are still more than a collection of red states and blue states; that we are the United States of America.  (Applause.) 
 
I want them to grow up in a country where a young mom can sit down and write a letter to her President with a story that sums up these past six years:  “It’s amazing what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who’s made it through some very, very hard times.”
 
My fellow Americans, we, too, are a strong, tight-knit family.  We, too, have made it through some hard times.  Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America.  We have laid a new foundation.  A brighter future is ours to write.  Let’s begin this new chapter together -- and let’s start the work right now.  (Applause.) 
 
Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless this country we love.  Thank you.  (Applause.) 
 
END
10:11 P.M. EST

Middle Class Economics for the 21st Century - Helping Working Families Get Ahead

Over the past six years, we’ve rescued and begun to rebuild our economy on a new foundation.  Middle class economics has begun to work.  Now we have to build on this progress to raise wages and incomes and to strengthen the standing of working families in a new economy. 

Middle class economics for the 21^st century provides working families with the support they need to make ends meet right now—to reward hard work so paychecks go further to cover the costs of health care, child care, a home, and a secure retirement in the future.  It empowers every working American with the education and training they need to earn higher wages.  And it places a relentless focus on making America the place where businesses decide to innovate, grow, and create good, high-paying jobs. The President will help America accomplish these goals by working with Congress when he can and acting on his own when he must. In everything we do, America is at its best when we move forward together.

Making the Paychecks of Working Families Go Further

• Eliminating the trust fund loophole and using the savings to responsibly pay for measures to help middle class families get ahead
• Cutting taxes with a $3,000 credit per young child to make child care more available and affordable, while creating a new second earner tax credit for working families
• Partnering with states to adopt paid leave and ensure every American can earn paid sick days so they can take time to care for themselves and their family
• Increasing the minimum wage, so some of the hardest working Americans get a raise
• Making a home more affordable for responsible middle class families by cutting mortgage premiums

Preparing Hardworking Americans to Earn Higher Wages

• Making two years of community college free for responsible students, so every American has access to at least two more years of high-quality schooling
• Reducing the burden of student loan debt and expanding a middle class tax cut for college so hardworking students aren’t priced out of an education
• Partnering with businesses to create more on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities so workers can learn the skills they need for better, higher-paying jobs and earn wages while they are training
• Expanding opportunities for working Americans to make career transitions into fast-growing, higher-paying fields where employers have good-paying jobs to fill 

Keeping Good, High-Paying Jobs in America

• Fixing our broken business tax code, repairing crumbling roads and bridges, and modernizing our infrastructure so businesses create good jobs here at home
• Promoting American jobs and American workers by signing new trade deals so the United States, not China, sets the fair wage, safe workplace, and clean environment rules of trade
• Jumpstarting medical innovation to deliver the right treatment to the right patient
• Promoting American leadership in clean energy technologies, as well as continuing to invest in advanced manufacturing to ensure America’s manufacturing sector continues to lead the world for years to come
•  Passing comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens the American workforce
• Ensuring entrepreneurs and small business owners have the tools they need to grow their businesses and create jobs

Making Paychecks of Working Families Go Further

Ensuring All Working Families Have Access to High-Quality, Affordable Child Care: Our current tax code for child care is unnecessarily complex and insufficient to cover the costs most families face. The President’s proposal would streamline child care tax benefits and triple the maximum child care credit for middle class families with young children, increasing it to $3,000 per child. This would benefit 5.1 million families, helping them cover child care costs for 6.7 million children, including 3.5 million children under 5. The President’s child care tax proposal will complement substantial additional new investments in the President’s Budget to improve child care quality, access, and affordability.

Making High-Quality Preschool Available to Every Four-Year Old: Since the President first called for every four-year-old across the Nation to have access to high-quality preschool programs, Congress has invested $500 million over two years, 34 states have invested over $1 billion, and philanthropic and corporate partners have invested over $300 million in preschool and early education. The President’s proposal would establish a Federal-State partnership to provide all low- and moderate-income four-year-olds with high-quality preschool, while providing States with incentives to expand these programs to reach additional children and to put in place full-day kindergarten policies. The proposal is paid for through an increase in tobacco taxes that will help reduce youth smoking and save lives. The President’s plan for early childhood would also continue to raise the bar in Head Start by investing in teacher quality and ensuring all children in the program have access to a full year of Head Start; expanding Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships; and investing in proven voluntary home visiting programs for new parents.

Cutting Taxes for Middle Class Families When Both Spouses Work: Two-earner couples can face high penalties for working. When both spouses work, the family incurs additional costs in the form of commuting costs, professional expenses, child care, and, increasingly, elder care. Building on Congressional proposals from members of both parties, the President is proposing to address these challenges with a new second earner credit of up to $500 that recognizes the additional costs faced by families in which both spouses work. A total of 24 million couples would benefit from this proposal.

Eliminating the Trust Fund Loophole and Using the Savings to Invest in the Middle Class: Rather than make it easier for middle class families to make ends meet, our tax system has changed over time in ways that make it easier for the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. The President’s proposal would close the single largest capital gains loophole – the trust fund loophole, which lets hundreds of billions of dollars escape taxation each year – to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share on inherited assets. The proposal would also raise the top combined capital gains and dividend rate to 28 percent – the rate under President Reagan. Ninety-nine percent of the impact of this proposal would be on the top 1 percent, and more than 80 percent on the top 0.1 percent (those with incomes over $2 million).

Strengthening Paid Leave Policies for Working Families: When 43 million private-sector workers are without any paid sick leave, too many workers go to work sick. Too many parents must choose between taking an unpaid day off work—losing much-needed income and potentially threatening his or her job—and sending a child to school who should be home in bed.  The President believes that Congress should pass the Healthy Families Act to allow millions of working Americans to earn up to seven days per year of paid sick time, and that states and localities should waste no time in passing their own laws allowing workers to earn sick leave.  In addition, while the Family and Medical Leave Act allows many work­ers to take job-protected unpaid time off to care for a new baby or sick child or to tend to their own health during a serious illness, millions of families cannot afford to use unpaid leave. The President is proposing more than $2 billion in new funds to encourage states to develop paid family and medical leave programs, following the example of California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. He is also following the lead of other large employers by ensuring that Federal employees with a new child are able to take time off, and he is calling on Congress to pass legislation giving Federal employees six weeks of paid parental leave. 

Increasing the Minimum Wage to Give Americans a Raise: Since the President made his initial call to raise the minimum wage in the 2013 State of the Union, 17 states and the District of Columbia have taken action to raise wages – which will benefit 7 million workers. Cities and business across the country have also acted to raise wages. The President is calling on states, cities, and businesses to follow that lead and help raise wages for millions of additional workers – and for Congress to finally act so that everyone who works full time can support their families.  

Making Owning a Home More Affordable for Middle Class Families by Cutting Mortgage Premiums: While the housing market is now on firmer footing – with rising home values, falling foreclosures, and fewer families underwater – too many creditworthy and qualified families who want to purchase a home are shut out of homeownership opportunities by today’s tight lending market. In response, the President announced a major new step that his Administration is taking to make mortgages more affordable and accessible for creditworthy families. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage point from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent. For the typical first-time homebuyer, this reduction will translate into a $900 reduction in their annual mortgage payment. Existing homeowners who refinance into an FHA mortgage will see similar reductions to their mortgage payments as well. In total, this action will help millions of families save billions of dollars in mortgage payments in the coming years, helping to support the housing market recovery. And in the coming months, the Administration will take additional steps to cut red tape and clarify lending standards to build on these measures.

Increasing Penalties for Companies Who Pay Their Workers Below the Minimum Wage and Deny Them the Overtime Pay They Have Earned: Some of the penalties against employers who fail to pay their workers a minimum wage or overtime pay are not strong enough to deter violations – some studies have even found that it is cheaper for firms to not comply with minimum wage laws, even when firms know they will be caught. In response, the President will propose that the Department of Labor strengthen penalties against employers who jeopardize workers’ health, safety, wages, right to family and medical leave, and retirement security. While increasing the penalties for those who violate overtime rules is essential to ensure that workers receive this basic guarantee, overtime rules have eroded over the years and need to be strengthened so that they cover more workers. Millions of salaried workers have been left without the protections of overtime and the minimum wage guarantees. For example, a convenience store manager or a fast food shift supervisor or an office worker may be expected to work 50 or 60 hours a week or more, making barely enough to keep a family out of poverty, without receiving a dime of overtime pay. It is even possible for employers to pay salaried workers less than the minimum wage per hour. To address the issue, the Secretary of Labor will put in place new regulations giving millions more workers the right to overtime pay.

Making it Easy and Automatic for Workers to Save for Retirement: Americans face a daunting array of choices when it comes to preparing for retirement. Social Security is and must remain a rock-solid, guaranteed progressive benefit that every American can rely on, but too many Americans reach their golden years without enough to supplement their Social Security and enjoy a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work. The President proposes to provide additional tax relief to small businesses who newly offer a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), or who start automatically enrolling workers in their plan. For those employers who don’t offer plans, the President’s proposal requires them to offer their workers a simple, affordable, and automatic IRA savings vehicle, and provides tax credits to small businesses to cover the minimal administrative costs. Together the President’s retirement proposals would give 30 million additional workers access to a workplace savings opportunity and would complement the Administration’s efforts over the past year to make saving for retirement easier by creating the simple, risk-free, and no-fee “myRA” starter savings vehicle. The President’s reforms to make the system more robust for middle class workers would be paid for by closing retirement tax loopholes for the wealthy.

Expanding Tax Credits that Reward Work: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is among the nation’s most effective tools for reducing poverty and encouraging people to enter the workforce. However, low-wage workers without children and non-custodial parents miss out on the anti-poverty and employment effects of the EITC because the credit available to them is small and phases out at very low incomes. Last year, the President and prominent Republicans proposed to address these problems by significantly expanding the EITC for workers without qualifying children. The President continues to support the childless worker EITC expansion, which would reduce poverty and hardship for 13.2 million low-income workers struggling to make ends meet while promoting employment. The President also continues to propose making permanent improvements to the EITC and CTC that augment wages for 16 million families with 29 million children each year, but are currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2017.

Ensuring More Americans Have Affordable, Quality Healthcare: Since long before the President took office, rising health care costs made it harder and harder for families to make ends meet. That’s why in March of 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone, improve quality, protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices, and control health care cost growth. For the millions of Americans who get health insurance through an employer plan or a program like Medicare, the law includes significant protections that ensure consumers and their doctors – not insurance companies – are in charge. We’ve reduced the share of uninsured Americans by about one quarter, as about ten million gained the financial security of health insurance in the past year alone. And since the Affordable Care Act became law, health care prices have risen at their lowest rates in nearly 50 years. Had health insurance premiums kept growing at the rate they did in the last decade, the average annual premium for a family with an employer plan would be $1,800 higher than it is today.

Protecting the Financial Well-Being of Hard Working Families and Businesses: Excessive financial risk taking and regulatory gaps in the run up to the crisis resulted in the worst recession in more than 70 years, left millions of Americans unemployed, and erased trillions of dollars of families’ savings. The President and his Administration are determined to prevent this kind of harm from happening again. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act put in place a range of important reforms that protect the financial well-being of families and help preserve the ability of Main Street businesses to grow through stable funding sources. For example, the law created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dedicated solely to protecting consumers in the financial marketplace – a cop on the beat on their behalf. Given the critical importance of protecting consumers and preventing recklessness in the financial system from harming the American economy, the President will defend these crucial reforms from attacks that benefit narrow special interests and unnecessarily put middle class families at risk.  The President is also calling on Congress to complete the last major unfinished piece of Wall Street reform by passing housing finance reform legislation to preserve broad access at affordable rates and a stable system for future generations.

Preparing Hardworking Americans to Earn Higher Wages

Making Two Years of Community College Free for Responsible Students, So Every Child in America Has Access to At Least Two Years of College: In the lead-up to the State of the Union, the President proposed an ambitious new effort to make two years of college free for responsible students.  The proposal, based on similar efforts in Tennessee and Chicago, would make two years of college as free and universal as high school, reduce the cost of a four-year degree, and improve the quality of community colleges that enroll almost 40 percent of all undergraduate college students today. The program will eliminate tuition at high-quality community college programs (either academic programs that fully transfer to local public four-year colleges and universities or occupational programs with good graduation rates and employment outcomes) for responsible students who earn good grades and stay on track to graduation.  After States achieve tuition-free community college with their grants, they can spend the remainder on expanding quality community college offerings, improving affordability at four-year public universities, and improving college readiness, through outreach and early intervention. The President’s proposal also includes a new American Technical Training Fund that will help community colleges and other institutions develop programs that have strong employer partnerships and include work-based learning opportunities for students to lead to better employment outcomes.

Preparing all Students for Success in College and Careers: Since the President took office, the Administration has worked with States and school districts toward the goal of all children meeting rigorous college- and career-ready standards.  Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have raised standards for learning in their schools and are supporting the hard work of teachers to enable their students to succeed.  The signs of progress are clear: the high school graduation rate is the highest on record, and students are making academic gains. Yet we have a long way to go to ensure that all students, particularly those who are the most disadvantaged, are ready to compete in a global economy.  That’s why the President is calling for new investments and innovation that will expand preschool, provide more help to disadvantaged students and the schools that serve them, better prepare and support teachers, and transform our high schools so that our graduates are prepared for college and career. In the coming days, the President will announce his plans to help hundreds of communities across America launch Next-Generation High Schools that will be laboratories for cutting-edge teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), with a focus on preparing many more women and students of color. Building on the tenets of high school reform that the President has put forward and championed, the Administration will also host a Summit on Next-Generation High Schools later in the year.

Simplifying Education Tax Benefits for All Students and Families: While the creation of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) in 2009 made college more affordable for millions of students and their families, our system of tax incentives for higher education is complex, and families are sometimes unable to take full advantage of the benefits. Building on bipartisan reform proposals, the President’s education tax reform plan would simplify, consolidate, and better target tax-based financial aid. The President’s plan would cut taxes for 8.5 million families and students, simplify taxes for the more than 25 million families and students that claim education tax benefits, and provide students working toward a college degree with up to $2,500 of assistance each year for five years. These education tax reforms would complement the President’s other proposals to make college more affordable, including continuing historic increases in the Pell scholarship program and making a quality community college education free for responsible students.

Simplifying Student Aid Forms So More Students Take Advantage of Financial Aid: The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) requires some applicants to complete over 100 questions to determine their eligibility for Federal student aid.  The complexity of the system discourages many eligible students from applying for aid:  more than 1 million students who are likely eligible for a Pell grant fail to complete the application.  The President is calling for elimination of 27 of the most burdensome and difficult-to-verify questions, including questions about assets that penalize savings and untaxed veterans benefits, child support, and clergy pay.  The result would be a simple online application that asks about the student’s address, parents’ income, college choices, and certain other, easy-to-answer questions.

Partnering with Industry to Create More Apprenticeship and On-The-Job Training Opportunities So Workers Can Learn the Skills They Need for a Better, Higher-Paying Job: Despite the large and growing demand for talent to fill well-paying jobs in fields like information technology, advanced manufacturing and health care, too many workers lack a clear path to a better job and middle class career. In response to the President’s call to make sure Federal job training is providing workers with the skills they need to secure good jobs that are ready to be filled, a review led by the Vice President resulted in a job-driven checklist of “what works” in job training that is being applied to Federal programs – requiring greater engagement with employers, expanded on-the-job training, and increased use of data to achieve better employment outcomes. The Administration has already awarded over $1 billion in competitive grants in 2014 to industry and education partnerships that applied this checklist, including over $300 million awarded to partnerships to train and hire for in-demand information technology jobs.

In particular, the President has taken action to expand access to apprenticeships, the gold-standard of investments to help workers advance into good, middle class jobs. Working with states, employers, and unions, Administration initiatives supported the country’s largest increase in registered apprenticeships in nearly a decade, and the President is committed to doubling down to build on and accelerate that expansion this year by aligning Federal investments with this proven path to the middle class and calling on more employers to expand apprenticeships.

Now, the President is also calling on employers to adopt or expand additional measures to help front-line workers gain the training and credentials to advance into better paying jobs - including paying for college education, offering on-the-job training for career progression, and increasing access to technology-enabled learning tools. Adopting best practices such as these can also improve employee retention, engagement, motivation, and productivity.  To that end, the White House will convene employers, foundations, educators, unions, non-profits, and others who are equipping front-line workers with the skills they need to advance into better paying jobs and punch their tickets to the middle class.

Partnering with Industry and Communities to Expand Opportunities for Americans to Transition into Well-Paying Jobs in Information Technology and Other Growing Fields: The President is calling on leaders in business and technology to work together with American communities to turn the half a million jobs in information technology open today in the United States into a near-term opportunity to grow our middle class. The Administration has already begun to work with cities, states, and rural communities across the country, as they initiate partnerships with their businesses, educators, innovators, and community leaders to give anyone willing to put in the work and able to master the skills the chance to get an in-demand tech job.  In the coming months, the White House will bring together communities that are taking these new actions, along with leaders in technology, business, workforce, education, and philanthropy committed to support their efforts with new tools and resources.

These initiatives build on the effort the President undertook to develop best practices on recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed, which nearly 300 businesses signed onto. Many businesses like Frontier Communications, US Bank, Wells Fargo, CVS, and Sodexo have taken steps to improve their recruitment and hiring of the long-term unemployed, which have yielded results. Deloitte Consulting, in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, released a handbook for employers to help more businesses take steps to get the long-term unemployed back to work. Over the past year, long-term unemployment has fallen by 1.2 million, representing two-thirds of the overall drop in unemployment.

Keeping Good, High-Paying Jobs in America

Fixing our Broken Tax Code, Repairing Crumbling Roads and Bridges, and Modernizing our Infrastructure So Businesses Create Good Jobs Here at Home: Transportation is a critical engine of the nation’s economy, allowing Americans to travel safely and conveniently, and enabling our businesses to move goods to market at competitive prices. The President has proposed the GROW AMERICA Act to renew our transportation infrastructure, which would grow our investments in roads, bridges and transit systems by more than a third, create tens of thousands of new jobs, and lay the foundations for long-term economic growth. The GROW AMERICA Act will provide States and local governments with the certainty they need to effectively plan and start construction on projects, enabling more of the transformative investments our nation needs. It will also create ladders of opportunity to the middle class, improve the nation’s freight system, and encourage innovation in transportation finance, transportation, and project delivery.

The President’s plan is financed by reinvesting the transition revenue from pro-growth business tax reform that would help create jobs and spur investment, while eliminating loopholes that let companies avoid paying their fair share. Specifically, the President’s framework for business tax reform includes cutting the corporate tax rate and broadening the tax base; improving incentives for research and clean energy; cutting and simplifying taxes for small business; and reforming the international tax system.

But the President isn’t waiting for Congress to act.  The Obama Administration’s Build America Investment initiative has taken a series of new steps by Federal agencies to support state and local governments’ efforts to access Federal financing programs, structure public-private collaboration, and attract private investment to build and improve roads, bridges, ports, broadband, and water systems in metropolitan and rural areas in ways that boost economic growth and resilience, while protecting the interests of taxpayers and workers.

Promoting American Jobs and American Workers by Signing New Trade Deals So the United States, not China, Sets the Fair Wage, Safe Workplace, and Clean Environment Rules of Trade: President Obama is committed to a trade agenda that provides new opportunities for workers and supports economic growth by opening markets, enforcing high standards in our agreements, and leveling the playing field for our workers.  The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), and other negotiations offer new opportunities to advance this agenda, consistent with American interests and American values, including putting labor and environmental protections at the core of trade policy while creating jobs and protecting and promoting innovation. The President will call on Congress to work with him to secure approval of bipartisan trade promotion legislation – building on the 80 year bipartisan history of Democrats and Republicans working together to promote American exports and create jobs.  As we work toward new trade deals that will expand markets for American goods and services, we will also work to ensure that the strong existing rules governing trade are enforced.  That’s why the President created an Interagency Trade Enforcement Center to bring all of the resources of government together to break down foreign barriers and hold our trading partners accountable.   The Obama Administration has brought 18 cases before the World Trade Organization, more than any other country, and we have prevailed in every case that has been decided.

Additionally, the Administration’s SelectUSA program will continue to work – in partnership with state and local officials – to bring job-creating investment to the United States. The President also believes we must help American small businesses compete in overseas markets, and reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank will create jobs and open opportunities.

Investing in R&D, in Key Areas from Precision Medicine to the BRAIN Initiative: America's long-term economic competitiveness and growth depend on robust investments in research and development (R&D), which provide the foundation needed to further grow the economy. The President is calling for a major increase in R&D investments, including precision medicine, combatting antibiotic resistance, and the President’s signature BRAIN Initiative. The President’s proposal would invest in precision medicine, an innovative field that provides healthcare professionals with tools, knowledge, and treatments to tailor care to a person’s unique characteristics – such as their genetic makeup. Recent advances in genomics and digital data have produced powerful new discoveries about health and disease that have made it possible to design highly effective, targeted treatments for cancer and other diseases. The President’s proposal will engage patients and healthcare providers in delivering this new era of medicine. To help address the global threat of infectious disease created by rampant spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the President also proposes to nearly double the Federal investment in antibiotic discovery. The President’s proposal also continues to invest in Alzheimer’s research and the multi-agency BRAIN Initiative. 

Simplifying Tax Filing for Small Business: At least 75 percent of regulatory compliance hours for small businesses have to do with tax compliance, and about 60 percent of small businesses’ tax compliance costs arise from complex rules around measuring income. For example, today’s rules require many small businesses to separately track and compute depreciation, amortization schedules, inventory, capitalized expenditures, and other items that require special accounting for taxes. Exemptions that let the smallest businesses avoid these complexities have not been comprehensively updated for nearly 30 years. The President will put forward a proposal to dramatically simplify tax filing for the vast majority of small businesses, letting them pay taxes based on their bank statement.

Tapping America’s Full Entrepreneurial Potential: The President will continue to take steps – working with cities and states – to cut red tape and make it easier for entrepreneurs to get what they need to start and grow new businesses. The President will also challenge the private and non-profit sectors to recruit more women, underrepresented minorities, and entrepreneurs from around the country to launch and scale innovative companies. The Administration will also build on work that the First Lady and the Department of Defense have undertaken for military spouses to reduce occupational licensing barriers that keep people from doing jobs they have the skills to do by requiring unnecessary training or high fees.

Positioning the United States to Lead in Manufacturing: After a decade of decline, the manufacturing sector is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s and poised for growth in the years ahead. The President will take steps to build on recent bipartisan legislation and the eight manufacturing institutes launched to date to complete 15 institutes by the end of his term and put us on pace for 45 institutes over a  decade; equip small and medium manufacturers with the capabilities and access to technologies they need to improve their innovation and productivity; and, through a new $10 billion public-private American Made Scale-Up Fund for manufacturing start-ups, ensure that what is invented in America can be made in America.

Ending Manufactured Crises and Investing in America: The President will call for the end of manufactured crises like government shutdowns, and call for investing in the things that have made America great for generations – strengthening our economy, improving the education and skills of our workforce, accelerating scientific discovery, bolstering manufacturing, and keeping our nation safe. The President's Budget will outline how to end sequester and pay for these investments by cutting ineffective spending and closing tax loopholes.

Building on Net Neutrality to Increase Access and Reduce Cost for Broadband: Affordable, fast broadband is crucial to the future of our economy and nation. That’s why in November, the President outlined his plan to ensure the Internet economy remains open to new competition and innovation by safeguarding net neutrality — which, at its core, will help ensure no one company can act as a gatekeeper to digital content. To that end, communities around the country are refusing to settle for subpar service that can make it hard to keep business local and attract new entrepreneurs.  As a result, communities like Lafayette, LA, Chattanooga, TN, and Kansas City, MO have broadband almost one hundred times faster than the national average.  To help more communities do the same, and ensure a level playing field for all competitors, in the lead-up to the State of the Union the President called to end laws that harm competition, expand the national movement of local leadership for better broadband, unveil new loan opportunities for rural providers, remove regulatory barriers, and improve investment incentives.

Moving America Forward Together

Fixing the Broken Immigration System through Comprehensive Legislation: President Obama continues to urge Congress to fix our broken immigration system by strengthening our border security, holding employers accountable, creating an earned path to citizenship so that undocumented immigrants can play by the same rules as everyone else, and modernizing our legal immigration system to boost our economy and reunite families. After waiting over 500 days for the House to act on commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform, in November the President acted within his legal authority to help secure the border, hold millions of undocumented immigrants accountable, and ensure that everyone plays by the same rules and pays their fair share of taxes.  These executive actions crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass national security and criminal background checks in order to request temporary relief allowing them to stay in the United States without fear of deportation. According to an analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers, these actions would raise average wages for US-born workers by $170 in ten years. As the President acts, he’ll continue to urge Congress to work with him on a comprehensive, bipartisan bill, but will not allow ideological fights to roll back the progress we’ve made.

Reforming Our Criminal Justice System: At a time when the crime rate and the incarceration rate are coming down together for the first time in 40 years, Democrats and Republicans are coming together around reforms that will reduce crime, address disparities, build trust in our communities, and reduce the staggering costs of our prison system – all at the same time. The President is committed to doing what he can to work with bipartisan partners in Congress to pass legislation this year reforming sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders, reducing recidivism, and promoting juvenile justice.

Building Trust Between Communities and Law Enforcement: Recent events around the country have highlighted the importance of trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve. Recognizing that the need to bridge the trust gap is essential to the stability of our communities, the integrity of our criminal justice system, and the safe and effective delivery of policing services, President Obama established the Task Force on 21st Century Policing.  The purpose of the Task Force is to build on the extensive research currently being conducted by the Department of Justice; examine, among other issues, how to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust; and prepare a report and recommendations within 90 days of its creation. The President also proposed a three-year $263 million investment package that will increase use of body-worn cameras, expand training for law enforcement agencies (LEAs), add more resources for police department reform, and multiply the number of cities where DOJ facilitates community and local LEA engagement.  Finally, the President recently signed an Executive Order creating an interagency Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group that will provide specific recommendations to the President regarding Federal funds and programs that provide certain equipment to state and local LEAs.

Leading the World to Take On the Threat of Climate Change and Win the Clean Energy Economy: In America, the past decade has been our hottest on record.  Along our eastern seaboard, a number of cities now flood regularly at high tide.  In the West, 20 of the 25 largest fires in the last 100 years have occurred since 2000. Severe weather events over the last decade related to climate change have cost families, businesses, and taxpayers billions of dollars. It’s clear that we need to act.

The Obama Administration has made climate a high priority by working hard to reduce carbon pollution here in the United States and by bringing other countries along to forge an effective global effort to combat this problem.  Two months ago, President Xi of China joined President Obama to announce a historic step for climate change action. President Obama announced an ambitious but achievable goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.  And China agreed to peak its carbon emissions around 2030 – the first time China has ever committed to peak its carbon pollution – and to double the share of zero-emission energy sources to 20 percent by 2030. In the United States, our carbon pollution is near its lowest levels in almost two decades.  We set higher standards for fuel economy, so that our cars will go twice as far on a gallon of gas, and are setting a new standard for trucks that will drive American manufacturing and spur the development of new technologies. 

Recognizing the need to help communities step up to prepare and respond to the impacts of climate change they are already seeing, we are also working with governors, local officials, and tribal leaders to prepare for climate change. Additionally, part of the President’s commitment on climate and clean energy means leading by example: setting a new aggressive 2025 target to cut the Government’s pollution emissions.

Serving Our Nation’s Veterans: The President has laid out five pillars to ensure that the brave men and women who served this country have the care, benefits, services, and opportunities they earned and deserve. Those are: ensuring veterans have the resources they need; getting veterans the health care they need; ending the backlog in disability claims; ending the scourge of veterans’ homelessness by the end of the year; and building out tools such as the Veterans Employment Center and the Boots to Business initiative to get veterans and their families the jobs, skills, and education they need to succeed.

Safeguarding American Consumers and Families in a Digital Age: In the lead-up to the State of the Union, the President announced that the Administration is building on the steps he has taken to protect American companies, consumers, and infrastructure from cyber threats, while safeguarding privacy and civil liberties, including improving consumer confidence by tackling identify theft, safeguarding student data in the classroom, and beyond, convening the public and private sector to tackle emerging privacy issues, and promoting innovation by improving consumer confidence.

Securing Cyberspace: The President recently unveiled the next steps in his plan to defend the nation’s systems.  These include a new legislative proposal, building on important work in Congress, to solve the challenges of information sharing that can cripple response to a cyber-attack.  They also include revisions to provisions of the Administration’s 2011 legislative proposal that called on Congress to take urgent action to give the private sector and government the tools they need to combat cyber threats at home and abroad while fully protecting privacy and civil liberties. And the President is extending an invitation to work in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to advance this urgent priority for the American people, including by convening the first White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University in February, to help shape public and private sector efforts to protect American consumers and companies from growing threats to consumers and commercial networks.

Making Government Work for the American People: In 2014, the Administration piloted the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) by recruiting private sector innovators, entrepreneurs, and engineers to government service.  Since standing up, this team of America’s best digital experts has worked in collaboration with Federal agencies to implement cutting edge digital and technology practices on the nation’s highest impact programs, including the successful re-launch of HealthCare.gov, the Veterans Benefits Management System, and an improved process for online visa applications. This small team is also working to recruit more highly skilled digital service experts and engineers into government.  Building on the successful launch of USDS, the President is proposing to scale and institutionalize this new approach to technology. The President’s Budget will also support the ability of several Federal agencies to create their own versions of the Health and Human Services “Idea Lab” and the USAID Global Development Lab, which are successfully cultivating new ideas and approaches from across their workforces and outside innovators.

Additionally, the President continues to call on Congress to revive the reorganization authority given to nearly every President from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan.  This authority would allow the Administration to submit plans to consolidate and reorganize Executive Branch departments and agencies for fast track consideration by Congress, but only so long as the result would be to reduce the size of Government or cut costs. The President’s Budget will include specific examples of steps the President would take if granted that authority.

Readout of the President's Call with President Hollande of France

President Obama spoke by telephone today with President Francois Hollande of France.  The two leaders discussed the current status of investigations into the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on January 7-8, and President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to provide whatever assistance the French government needs.  President Hollande expressed gratitude for Secretary Kerry’s visit to Paris and for the support France has received from the President and the United States.  They also discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine and the need to maintain sanctions against Russia in the absence of implementation of the Minsk agreements, and they agreed upon the importance of providing additional financial support to the Ukrainian government.  President Obama and President Hollande spoke about the situation in Nigeria, agreeing to work with other members of the international community to help Nigeria hold credible and peaceful elections and to support a regional strategy to counter Boko Haram.  The two leaders consulted on the status of on-going negotiations with Iran and discussed recent developments in Israeli-Palestinian relations.