Remarks by the President and the Vice President on Gun Violence

South Court Auditorium

11:52 A.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Before I begin today, let me say to the families of the innocents who were murdered 33 days ago, our heart goes out to you.  And you show incredible courage -- incredible courage -- being here.  And the President and I are going to do everything in our power to honor the memory of your children and your wives with the work we take up here today.

It’s been 33 days since the nation’s heart was broken by the horrific, senseless violence that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- 20 -- 20 beautiful first-graders gunned down in a place that's supposed to be their second sanctuary.  Six members of the staff killed trying to save those children.  It’s literally been hard for the nation to comprehend, hard for the nation to fathom.

And I know for the families who are here that time is not measured in days, but it’s measured in minutes, in seconds, since you received that news.  Another minute without your daughter. Another minute without your son.  Another minute without your wife.  Another minute without your mom.

I want to personally thank Chris and Lynn McDonald, who lost their beautiful daughter, Grace, and the other parents who I had a chance to speak to, for their suggestions and for -- again, just for the courage of all of you to be here today.  I admire the grace and the resolve that you all are showing.  And I must say I’ve been deeply affected by your faith, as well.  And the President and I are going to do everything to try to match the resolve you’ve demonstrated. 

No one can know for certain if this senseless act could have been prevented, but we all know we have a moral obligation -- a moral obligation -- to do everything in our power to diminish the prospect that something like this could happen again.

As the President knows, I’ve worked in this field a long time -- in the United States Senate, having chaired a committee that had jurisdiction over these issues of guns and crime, and having drafted the first gun violence legislation -- the last gun violence legislation, I should say.  And I have no illusions about what we’re up against or how hard the task is in front of us.  But I also have never seen the nation’s conscience so shaken by what happened at Sandy Hook.  The world has changed, and it’s demanding action.

It’s in this context that the President asked me to put together, along with Cabinet members, a set of recommendations about how we should proceed to meet that moral obligation we have.  And toward that end, the Cabinet members and I sat down with 229 groups -- not just individuals, representing groups -- 229 groups from law enforcement agencies to public health officials, to gun officials, to gun advocacy groups, to sportsmen and hunters and religious leaders.  And I’ve spoken with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, had extensive conversations with mayors and governors and county officials. 

And the recommendations we provided to the President on Monday call for executive actions he could sign, legislation he could call for, and long-term research that should be undertaken. They're based on the emerging consensus we heard from all the groups with whom we spoke, including some of you who are victims of this god-awful occurrence -- ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands, as well as ways to take comprehensive action to prevent violence in the first place. 

We should do as much as we can, as quickly as we can.  And we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  So some of what you will hear from the President will happen immediately; some will take some time.  But we have begun.  And we are starting here today and we’re going to resolve to continue this fight.

During the meetings that we held, we met with a young man who’s here today -- I think Colin Goddard is here.  Where are you, Colin?  Colin was one of the survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre.  He was in the classroom.  He calls himself one of the “lucky seven.”  And he’ll tell you he was shot four times on that day and he has three bullets that are still inside him. 

And when I asked Colin about what he thought we should be doing, he said, “I’m not here because of what happened to me. I’m here because of what happened to me keeps happening to other people and we have to do something about it.”

Colin, we will.  Colin, I promise you, we will.  This is our intention.  We must do what we can now.  And there’s no person who is more committed to acting on this moral obligation we have than the President of the United States of America.

Ladies and gentlemen, President Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Good afternoon, everybody. 

Let me begin by thanking our Vice President, Joe Biden, for your dedication, Joe, to this issue, for bringing so many different voices to the table.  Because while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one. 

Over the month since the tragedy in Newtown, we’ve heard from so many, and, obviously, none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost.  And so we’re grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here, and recognizing that we honor their memories in part by doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again.

But we also heard from some unexpected people.  In particular, I started getting a lot of letters from kids.  Four of them are here today -- Grant Fritz, Julia Stokes, Hinna Zeejah, and Teja Goode.  They’re pretty representative of some of the messages that I got.  These are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people. 

Hinna, a third-grader -- you can go ahead and wave, Hinna. That’s you -- (laughter.)  Hinna wrote, “I feel terrible for the parents who lost their children…I love my country and [I] want everybody to be happy and safe.”

And then, Grant -- go ahead and wave, Grant.  (Laughter.)  Grant said, “I think there should be some changes.  We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook…I feel really bad.”

And then, Julia said -- Julia, where are you?  There you go -- “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others.  I have four brothers and sisters and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.”

These are our kids.  This is what they’re thinking about.  And so what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them, and shield them from harm, and give them the tools they need to grow up and do everything that they’re capable of doing -- not just to pursue their own dreams, but to help build this country.  This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe.  This is how we will be judged.  And their voices should compel us to change.

And that’s why, last month, I asked Joe to lead an effort, along with members of my Cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. 

And we can't put this off any longer.  Just last Thursday, as TV networks were covering one of Joe’s meetings on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in California.  In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month.  And every day we wait, that number will keep growing.

So I’m putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of Joe’s task force.  And in the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality. Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try.

And I’m going to do my part.  As soon as I'm finished speaking here, I will sit at that desk and I will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence.

We will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system.  We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans.  We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence -- even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator. 

And while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it -- and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds.  We don't benefit from ignorance.  We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence.

These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I’m announcing today.  But as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress.  To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act -- and Congress must act soon.  And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away.

First:  It’s time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun.  (Applause.)   The law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks, and over the last 14 years that’s kept 1.5 million of the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun.  But it’s hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.  That’s not safe.  That's not smart.  It’s not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers. 

If you want to buy a gun -- whether it’s from a licensed dealer or a private seller -- you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one.  This is common sense.  And an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with us on the need for universal background checks -- including more than 70 percent of the National Rifle Association’s members, according to one survey.  So there’s no reason we can’t do this.

Second:  Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines.  (Applause.) The type of assault rifle used in Aurora, for example, when paired with high-capacity magazines, has one purpose -- to pump out as many bullets as possible, as quickly as possible; to do as much damage, using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage. 

And that's what allowed the gunman in Aurora to shoot 70 people -- 70 people -- killing 12 in a matter of minutes.  Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater.  A majority of Americans agree with us on this. 

And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them -- this is Ronald Reagan speaking -- urging them to “listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of [military-style assault] weapons.”  (Applause.) 

And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job.  We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals.  And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this.  Since Congress hasn’t confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be -- who has been Acting, and I will be nominating for the post.  (Applause.)

And at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets.

Let me be absolutely clear.  Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen.  There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting, or sport, or protection, or collection. 

I also believe most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale.  I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown.  That’s what these reforms are designed to do.  They’re common-sense measures.  They have the support of the majority of the American people. 

And yet, that doesn’t mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement.  If it were, we’d already have universal background checks.  The ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire.  More of our fellow Americans might still be alive, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. 

This will be difficult.  There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty -- not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves.  And behind the scenes, they’ll do everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. 

The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different -- that this time, we must do something to protect our communities and our kids. 

I will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe.  But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.  And by the way, that doesn’t just mean from certain parts of the country.  We're going to need voices in those areas, in those congressional districts, where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important.  It can't just be the usual suspects.  We have to examine ourselves and our hearts, and ask ourselves what is important. 

This will not happen unless the American people demand it.  If parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough; we’ve suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue -- then change will come.  That's what it's going to take.

In the letter that Julia wrote me, she said, “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.”  (Laughter.)  Julia, I will try very hard.  But she’s right.  The most important changes we can make depend on congressional action.  They need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the American people need to make sure that they do. 

Get them on record.  Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  And if they say no, ask them why not.  Ask them what’s more important -- doing whatever it takes to get a A grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns, or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade?  (Applause.)

This is the land of the free, and it always will be.  As Americans, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us.  But we've also long recognized, as our Founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities.  Along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to do the same.  We don’t live in isolation.  We live in a society, a government of, and by, and for the people.  We are responsible for each other. 

The right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  The right to assemble peaceably, that right was denied shoppers in Clackamas, Oregon, and moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado.  That most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech, and high school students at Columbine, and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate, and all the families who’ve never imagined that they’d lose a loved one to a bullet -- those rights are at stake.  We’re responsible.

When I visited Newtown last month, I spent some private time with many of the families who lost their children that day.  And one was the family of Grace McDonald.  Grace’s parents are here. Grace was seven years old when she was struck down -- just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl.  I’m told she loved pink. She loved the beach.  She dreamed of becoming a painter. 

And so just before I left, Chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and I hung it in my private study just off the Oval Office.  And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace.  And I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now -- for Grace.  For the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give.  For the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victim to senseless violence each and every day.  For all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm.  Let’s do the right thing.  Let’s do the right thing for them, and for this country that we love so much.  (Applause.) 

Thank you.  Let’s sign these orders.  (Applause.)

(The executive orders are signed.)  (Applause.)

All right, there we go.  (Applause.)

END   
12:17 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President in Nomination of Secretary of the Treasury

East Room

1:40 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Please have a seat.  A little more than four years ago, I stood with Mr. Tim Geithner and announced him as my first nominee to my Cabinet.  We were barely two months into the financial crisis.  The stock market had cratered.  The housing market had cratered as well.  Bank after bank was on the verge of collapse.  And worst of all, more than 800,000 Americans would lose their jobs in just that month.  And the bottom was not yet in sight.

So I couldn’t blame Tim when he tried to tell me he wasn’t the right guy for the job.  (Laughter.)  But I knew that Tim’s extensive experience with economic policy made him eminently qualified, and I also knew that he could hit the ground running.  As Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve, he had just spent several sleepless and chaotic weeks immersed in the complexities of the crisis, and had been working closely with his Republican predecessor at Treasury to save the financial system.

Then, with the wreckage of our economy still smoldering and unstable, I asked Tim to help put it back together.  And thanks in large part to his steady hand, our economy has been growing again for the past three years, our businesses have created nearly 6 million new jobs.  The money that we spent to save the financial system has largely been paid back.  We’ve put in place rules to prevent that kind of financial meltdown from ever happening again.  An auto industry was saved.  We made sure taxpayers are not on the hook if the biggest firms fail again.  We’ve taken steps to help underwater homeowners come up for air, and open new markets to sell American goods overseas.  And we’ve begun to reduce our deficit through a balanced mix of spending cuts and reforms to a tax code that at the time that we both came in was too skewed in favor of the wealthy at the expense of middle-class Americans.

So when the history books are written, Tim Geithner is going to go down as one of our finest Secretaries of the Treasury.  (Applause.)

All right, don't embarrass him.  (Laughter.) 

On a personal note, Tim has been a wonderful friend and a dependable advisor throughout these last four years.  There’s an unofficial saying over at Treasury -- “no peacocks, no jerks, no whiners.”  That would be a good saying for all of Washington -- (laughter) -- "no peacocks, no jerks, no whiners."  Few embody that ideal better than Tim Geithner.  That’s why, when Tim was thinking about leaving a couple of years ago -- (laughter) -- I had to personally get on my knees with Carole to help convince him to stay on a little bit longer.  And I could not be more grateful to Carole and the entire Geithner family for allowing him to make the sacrifices that so many of our Cabinet members ask of their families in serving the country.

The fact is, while a lot of work remains, especially to rebuild a strong middle class and offer working folks new pathways to rise into the middle class, our economy is better positioned for tomorrow than most of those other countries hit by the financial crisis.  The tough decisions Tim made and carried out deserve a lot of credit for that.  So I understand that Tim is ready for a break.  Obviously, we're sad to see him go.  But I cannot think of a better person to continue Tim's work at Treasury than Jack Lew.

This is bittersweet not only because Tim is leaving, but also because Jack has been my Chief of Staff for the last year.  He was my budget director before that.  I trust his judgment.  I value his friendship.  I know very few people with greater integrity than the man to my left.  And so I don’t want to see him go because it's working out really well for me to have him here in the White House.  But my loss will be the nation’s gain. 

Jack has the distinction of having worked -- and succeeded -- in some of the toughest jobs in Washington and the private sector.  As a congressional staffer in the 1980s, he helped negotiate the deal between President Reagan and Tip O’Neill to save Social Security.  Under President Clinton, he presided over three budget surpluses in a row.  So for all the talk out there about deficit reduction, making sure our books are balanced, this is the guy who did it -- three times.  He helped oversee one of our nation’s finest universities and one of our largest investment banks. 

In my administration, he has managed operations for the State Department and the budget for the entire executive branch.  And over the past year, I’ve sought Jack’s advice on virtually every decision that I’ve made, from economic policy to foreign policy.

One reason Jack has been so effective in this town is because he is a low-key guy who prefers to surround himself with policy experts rather than television cameras.  And over the years, he’s built a reputation as a master of policy who can work with members of both parties and forge principled compromises. 

And maybe most importantly, as the son of a Polish immigrant, a man of deep and devout faith, Jack knows that every number on a page, every dollar we budget, every decision we make has to be an expression of who we wish to be as a nation, our values.  The values that say everybody gets a fair shot at opportunity and says that we expect all of us to fulfill our individual obligations as citizens in return.  So Jack has my complete trust.  I know I'm not alone in that. 

In the words of one former senator, “Having Lew on your team is the equivalent as a coach of having the luxury of putting somebody at almost any position and knowing he will do well.”  And I could not agree more.  So I hope the Senate will confirm him as quickly as possible. 

I want to personally thank both of these men and their families, especially Carole and Ruth, for their extraordinary service to our country.

And with that, I'd like to invite them to say a few words, starting with Tim. 

SECRETARY GEITHNER:  Mr. President, it's been a privilege to serve you.  I'm honored and grateful that you asked me to do this, really I am.  And I'm very proud of what my colleagues at Treasury and your economic team was able to help you accomplish these first four years. 

When you stepped into this building as President, you were confronted with a world in crisis, the worst crisis in generations.  And you made the necessary, the hard, the politically perilous choices that saved the American people, saved American industry, saved the global economy from a failing financial system.  And your successful response to the crisis of course did not solve all the nation's challenges.  It could not have done so.  But the actions you took along with those of a forceful and creative Federal Reserve have made the country stronger and have put us in a much better position to face the many challenges still ahead of us -- and they are many.

I have the greatest respect for Jack Lew.  I know him as a man of exceptional judgment, calm under pressure, with an extraordinary record of accomplishment and experience over decades spent at the center of American economic policy.  He's committed to defending the safety net for the elderly and the poor.  He understands what it takes to create the conditions for stronger economic growth and broader economic opportunity.  And he understands that to govern responsibly is to govern with a recognition that we have limited fiscal resources. 

Now, like Jack, I've spent my professional life in this world of public policy and public service.  And as all of you know, our families carry a large share of the burdens we assume in public life.  And I feel incredibly fortunate that my wife Carole and my family have been willing to allow me to do this.  And I thank them for their support and their patience.  And I understand their occasional impatience.  (Laughter.)

I want to express my admiration and my appreciation for the women and the men of the Treasury Department.  Those who came to serve you these years of crisis and the civil servants of the Treasury with whom I first started working in 1988, they are exceptionally talented and honorable public servants.  I'm very proud of what they have helped you accomplish.  And I am confident that my successor will find them the extraordinary asset they are to the nation.

And I also hope that Americans will look at the challenges we face today and decide, as many of you in this room have, that in spite of the divisive state of our political system today that serving your country is compelling and rewarding work.  That was my experience, and I am grateful and will always be grateful to you for having given me the opportunity to serve you as the 75th Secretary of the Treasury.  (Applause.)

MR. LEW:  Mr. President, it has been my honor to serve as your Chief of Staff and before that at OMB and the State Department.  It’s really been a privilege to come to work every day as part of a team that’s dedicated to building a sound economy and a safer world.

Tim, you have been a friend and a colleague for many years -- actually, decades -- and the American people are better off for your outstanding service.  And I thought I knew you pretty well, but it was only yesterday that I discovered that we both share a common challenge with penmanship.  (Laughter.)  Tim, I join the President and everyone here in wishing you and Carole and your whole family well.

As a kid growing up in Queens, I had dreams of making a difference in the world.  These dreams were nurtured in a home where the gifts of American freedom and opportunity were cherished and never taken for granted, and the responsibility to engage in issues of public concern were part of daily life.  I will always be grateful to my parents for grounding me in the values that have remained central to my personal and professional life.

I grew up professional in the office of Speaker O’Neill, whose compass was always clear and who demanded unvarnished advice on how best to reach the desired destination.  Mr. O’Neill cared little about your age or rank, and only about whether or not you did the hard work to inform the decisions of the day.  And he took a big chance giving a lot of responsibility to a very young man, and for that I’ll always be thankful.

Serving at OMB first under President Clinton and more recently in this administration, I worked with one of the finest teams in the government to execute a responsible fiscal policy while advancing policies to promote economic growth.  I’m delighted to see so many of my friends from OMB here today. 

At the State Department, I worked closely with our great Secretary of State and my friend, Hillary Clinton, to advance our nation’s national security agenda, including our international economic policies.

And as Chief of Staff, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a tremendously talented White House team, which manages policy, politics, communications, and complex operations every day with grace, skill, and loyalty. 

If confirmed, I look forward to joining the Treasury Department, whose people are legendary for their skill and knowledge.  It’s a team that I’ve collaborated with closely over many years and have come to respect greatly.

Finally, thank you to Ruth, Shoshi, Danny, Zahava, and the kids for your endless tolerance with the demands of a schedule that tests all family patience.  And thank you, Mr. President, for your trust, your confidence, and friendship.  Serving in your administration has allowed me to live out those values my parents instilled in me, and I look forward to continuing with the challenges ahead.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  These are two outstanding public servants.  I think the only point that I want to make -- leave you with is the fact that I had never noticed Jack’s signature -- (laughter) -- and when this was highlighted yesterday in the press, I considered rescinding -- (laughter) -- my offer to appoint him.  Jack assures me that he is going to work to make at least one letter legible -- (laughter) -- in order not to debase our currency should he be confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury.

Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)

END 
1:56 P.M. EST

Weekly Address: Working Together in the New Year to Grow Our Economy and Shrink Our Deficits

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama talked about the bipartisan agreement that Congress reached this week which prevented a middle-class tax hike, congratulated the newly sworn-in Members of Congress, and looked forward to working with the new Congress in the new year to continue to grow our economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way.    

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00AM ET, Saturday, January 5, 2013.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
The Weekly Address
Honolulu, Hawaii
January 4, 2013

Hi, everybody.  Over the past year, as I traveled across the country campaigning for this office, I told you that if I was fortunate enough to be re-elected, I’d work to change a tax code that too often benefited the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

This week, we did that.  For the first time in two decades, we raised taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans in a bipartisan way, while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have thrown our economy back into recession. 

Under this law, more than 98% of Americans and 97% of small business will not see their income taxes go up one dime.  We also made sure that millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their children and send them to college.  Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs they create.  And two million Americans who are out of work will continue to receive unemployment benefits so long as they are actively looking for a job.

But all this was just one more step in the broader effort to grow our economy and shrink our deficits.  We still need to do more to put Americans back to work while also putting this country on a path to pay down its debt.  And our economy can’t afford more protracted showdowns or manufactured crises along the way.  Because even as our businesses created 2 million new jobs last year – including 168,000 new jobs last month – the messy brinksmanship in Congress made business owners more uncertain and consumers less confident.

We know there’s a path forward.  Last year, I signed into law $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction.  This week’s action further reduces the deficit by $737 billion, making it one of the largest deficit reduction bills passed by Congress in over a decade.  And I’m willing to do more. 

I believe we can find more places to cut spending without shortchanging things like education, job training, research and technology all which are critical to our prosperity in a 21^st century economy.  But spending cuts must be balanced with more reforms to our tax code.  The wealthiest individuals and the biggest corporations shouldn’t be able to take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren’t available to most Americans.

And as I said earlier this week, one thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up.  If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic.  The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it.  Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again. 

I congratulate the newly sworn-in Members of Congress, and I look forward to working with the new Congress in a bipartisan way.  If we focus on the interests of our country above the interests of party, I’m convinced we can cut spending and raise revenue in a manner that reduces our deficit and protects the middle class.  And we can step up to meet the important business that awaits us this year. Creating jobs and boosting incomes. Fixing our infrastructure and our immigration system.  Promoting our energy independence while protecting our planet from the harmful effects of climate change.  Educating our children and shielding them from the horrors of gun violence. 

These aren’t just things we should do – they’re things we must do.  And in this New Year, I’ll fight as hard as I know how to get them done.  Happy New Year, everybody.

###

Remarks by the President on Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

1:45 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Well, good afternoon, everybody.

AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Welcome to the White House.

AUDIENCE:  Thank you!

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you for having us.  (Laughter.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, I realize that the last thing you want to hear on New Year's Eve is another speech from me.  But I do need to talk about the progress that’s being made in Congress today. 

For the last few days, leaders in both parties have been working toward an agreement that will prevent a middle class tax hike from hitting 98 percent of all Americans, starting tomorrow. Preventing that tax hike has been my top priority, because the last thing folks like the folks up here on this stage can afford right now is to pay an extra $2,000 in taxes next year.  Middle-class families can't afford it.  Businesses can't afford it.  Our economy can't afford it.

Now, today it appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight, but it's not done.  There are still issues left to resolve, but we're hopeful that Congress can get it done.  But it's not done.

And so part of the reason that I wanted to speak to all of you here today is to make sure that we emphasize to Congress and that members of both parties understand that all across America, this is a pressing concern on people's minds. 

Now, the potential agreement that’s being talked about would not only make sure that taxes don’t go up on middle-class families, it also would extend tax credits for families with children.  It would extend our tuition tax credit that’s helped millions of families pay for college.  It would extend tax credits for clean energy companies that are creating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.  It would extend unemployment insurance to 2 million Americans who are out there still actively looking for a job. 

I have to say that ever since I took office, throughout the campaign, and over the last couple of months, my preference would have been to solve all these problems in the context of a larger agreement, a bigger deal, a grand bargain -- whatever you want to call it -- that solves our deficit problems in a balanced and responsible way, that doesn't just deal with the taxes but deals with the spending in a balanced way so that we can put all this behind us and just focusing on growing our economy. 

But with this Congress, that was obviously a little too much to hope for at this time.  (Laughter.)  It may be we can do it in stages.  We’re going to solve this problem instead in several steps.

Last year in 2011, we started reducing the deficit through $1 trillion in spending cuts.  Those have already taken place.  The agreement being worked on right now would further reduce the deficit by asking the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans to pay higher taxes for the first time in two decades, so that would add additional hundreds of billions of dollars to deficit reduction. So that's progress, but we’re going to need to do more.

Keep in mind that just last month Republicans in Congress said they would never agree to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.  Obviously, the agreement that's currently being discussed would raise those rates and raise them permanently.  (Applause.)

But keep in mind, we’re going to still have more work to do. We still have deficits that have to be dealt with.  We’re still going to have to think about how we put our economy on a long-term trajectory of growth, how we continue to make investments in things like education, things like infrastructure that help our economy grow. 

And keep in mind that the threat of tax hikes going up is only one part of this so-called fiscal cliff that everybody has been talking about.  What we also have facing us starting tomorrow are automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to go into effect.  And keep in mind that some of these spending cuts that Congress has said will automatically go into effect have an impact on our Defense Department, but they also have an impact on things like Head Start.  And so there are some programs that are scheduled to be cut that we’re using an axe instead of a scalpel -- may not always be the smartest cuts.  And so that is a piece of business that still has to be taken care of. 

And I want to make clear that any agreement we have to deal with these automatic spending cuts that are being threatened for next month, those also have to be balanced -- because remember, my principle has always been let’s do things in a balanced, responsible way.  And that means that revenues have to be part of the equation in turning off the sequester, in eliminating these automatic spending cuts, as well as spending cuts. 

Now, the same is true for any future deficit agreement.  Obviously, we’re going to have to do more to reduce our debt and our deficit.  I’m willing to do more, but it’s going to have to be balanced.  We’re going to have to do it in a balanced, responsible way.

For example, I’m willing to reduce our government’s Medicare bills by finding new ways to reduce the cost of health care in this country.  That's something that we all should agree on.  We want to make sure that Medicare is there for future generations. But the current trajectory of health care costs is going up so high we've got to find ways to make sure that it’s sustainable. 

But that kind of reform has to go hand-in-hand with doing some more work to reform our tax code so that wealthy individuals, the biggest corporations can't take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most of the folks standing up here -- aren't available to most Americans.  So there’s still more work to be done in the tax code to make it fairer, even as we're also looking at how we can strengthen something like Medicare.

Now, if Republicans think that I will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone -- and you hear that sometimes coming from them, that sort of after today we're just going to try to shove only spending cuts down -- well -- (laughter) -- shove spending cuts at us that will hurt seniors, or hurt students, or hurt middle-class families, without asking also equivalent sacrifice from millionaires or companies with a lot of lobbyists, et cetera -- if they think that's going to be the formula for how we solve this thing, then they’ve got another thing coming.  That's not how it’s going to work.  We've got to do this in a balanced and responsible way.  And if we're going to be serious about deficit reduction and debt reduction, then it’s going to have to be a matter of shared sacrifice -- at least as long as I'm President.  And I'm going to be President for the next four years, I think, so -- (applause.)

So, anyway, for now, our most immediate priority is to stop taxes going up for middle-class families, starting tomorrow.  I think that is a modest goal that we can accomplish.  Democrats and Republicans in Congress have to get this done, but they’re not there yet.  They are close, but they’re not there yet.  And one thing we can count on with respect to this Congress is that if there’s even one second left before you have to do what you're supposed to do -- (laughter) -- they will use that last second.

So, as of this point, it looks like I'm going to be spending New Year’s here in D.C.

AUDIENCE:  Awww --

THE PRESIDENT:  You all are going to be hanging out in D.C., too.  (Laughter.)  I can come to your house?  Is that what you said?  (Laughter.)  I don't want to spoil the party. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You are the party.  (Laughter.)   

THE PRESIDENT:  But the people who are with me here today, the people who are watching at home, they need our leaders in Congress to succeed.  They need us to all stay focused on them -- not on politics, not on special interests.  They need to be focused on families, students, grandmas, folks who are out there working really, really hard and are just looking for a fair shot and some reward for that hard work.

They expect our leaders to succeed on their behalf.  So do I.  And so, keep the pressure on over the next 12 hours or so. Let’s see if we can get this thing done. 

And I thank you all.  And if I don't see you, if I don't show up at your house -- (laughter) -- I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

END
1:56 P.M. EST