Following is the transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union address, as prepared and released by the White House.
Following is the transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union address,
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President,
Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
Tonight marks the eighth year I’ve
come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I’m
going to try to make it shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to
Iowa.
I also understand that because it’s
an election season, expectations for what we’ll achieve this year are low.
Still, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach you and the other
leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and make tax cuts
permanent for working families. So I hope we can work together this year on
bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who are
battling prescription drug abuse. We just might surprise the cynics again.
But tonight, I want to go easy on
the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead. Don’t worry, I’ve got
plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing
medical treatments for patients. And I’ll keep pushing for progress on the work
that still needs doing. Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids
from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum
wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the
right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done.
But for my final address to this
chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the
next five years, ten years, and beyond.
I want to focus on our future.
We live in a time of extraordinary
change – change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet
and our place in the world. It’s change that promises amazing medical
breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. It
promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects
terrorists plotting an ocean away. It’s change that can broaden opportunity, or
widen inequality. And whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will
only accelerate.
America has been through big changes
before – wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a
fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. Each time, there have been
those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on
change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that
was threatening America under control. And each time, we overcame those fears.
We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the “dogmas of the quiet past.”
Instead we thought anew, and acted anew. We made change work for us, always
extending America’s promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more
people. And because we did – because we saw opportunity where others saw only
peril – we emerged stronger and better than before.
What was true then can be true now.
Our unique strengths as a nation – our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of
discovery and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the rule of law –
these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for
generations to come.
In fact, it’s that spirit that made
the progress of these past seven years possible. It’s how we recovered from the
worst economic crisis in generations. It’s how we reformed our health care
system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and
benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every
state to marry the person we love.
But such progress is not inevitable.
It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right
now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a
nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future
with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we
can do together?
So let’s talk about the future, and
four big questions that we as a country have to answer – regardless of who the
next President is, or who controls the next Congress.
First, how do we give everyone a
fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?
Second, how do we make technology
work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent
challenges like climate change?
Third, how do we keep America safe
and lead the world without becoming its policeman?
And finally, how can we make our
politics reflect what’s best in us, and not what’s worst?
Let me start with the economy, and a
basic fact: the United States of America, right now, has the strongest, most
durable economy in the world. We’re in the middle of the longest streak of
private-sector job creation in history. More than 14 million new jobs; the
strongest two years of job growth since the ‘90s; an unemployment rate cut in
half. Our auto industry just had its best year ever. Manufacturing has created
nearly 900,000 new jobs in the past six years. And we’ve done all this while
cutting our deficits by almost three-quarters.
Anyone claiming that America’s
economy is in decline is peddling fiction. What is true – and the reason that a
lot of Americans feel anxious – is that the economy has been changing in
profound ways, changes that started long before the Great Recession hit and
haven’t let up. Today, technology doesn’t just replace jobs on the assembly
line, but any job where work can be automated. Companies in a global economy
can locate anywhere, and face tougher competition. As a result, workers have
less leverage for a raise. Companies have less loyalty to their communities.
And more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top.
All these trends have squeezed
workers, even when they have jobs; even when the economy is growing. It’s made
it harder for a hardworking family to pull itself out of poverty, harder for
young people to start on their careers, and tougher for workers to retire when
they want to. And although none of these trends are unique to America, they do
offend our uniquely American belief that everybody who works hard should get a
fair shot.
For the past seven years, our goal
has been a growing economy that works better for everybody. We’ve made
progress. But we need to make more. And despite all the political arguments
we’ve had these past few years, there are some areas where Americans broadly
agree.
We agree that real opportunity
requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a
good-paying job. The bipartisan reform of No Child Left Behind was
an important start, and together, we’ve increased early childhood education,
lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, and boosted graduates in
fields like engineering. In the coming years, we should build on that progress,
by providing Pre-K for all, offering every student the hands-on computer
science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and we should
recruit and support more great teachers for our kids.
And we have to make college
affordable for every American. Because no hardworking student should be stuck
in the red. We’ve already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of a
borrower’s income. Now, we’ve actually got to cut the cost of college.
Providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible
student is one of the best ways to do that, and I’m going to keep fighting to
get that started this year.
Of course, a great education isn’t
all we need in this new economy. We also need benefits and protections that provide
a basic measure of security. After all, it’s not much of a stretch to say that
some of the only people in America who are going to work the same job, in the
same place, with a health and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in
this chamber. For everyone else, especially folks in their forties and fifties,
saving for retirement or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher.
Americans understand that at some point in their careers, they may have to
retool and retrain. But they shouldn’t lose what they’ve already worked so hard
to build.
That’s why Social Security and Medicare are more important than
ever; we shouldn’t weaken them, we should strengthen them. And for Americans
short of retirement, basic benefits should be just as mobile as everything else
is today. That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It’s about filling
the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to
school, or start that new business, we’ll still have coverage. Nearly eighteen
million have gained coverage so far. Health care inflation has slowed. And our
businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law.
Now, I’m guessing we won’t agree on
health care anytime soon. But there should be other ways both parties can
improve economic security. Say a hardworking American loses his job – we
shouldn’t just make sure he can get unemployment insurance; we should make sure
that program encourages him to retrain for a business that’s ready to hire him.
If that new job doesn’t pay as much, there should be a system of wage insurance
in place so that he can still pay his bills. And even if he’s going from job to
job, he should still be able to save for retirement and take his savings with
him. That’s the way we make the new economy work better for everyone.
I also know Speaker Ryan has talked
about his interest in tackling poverty. America is about giving everybody
willing to work a hand up, and I’d welcome a serious discussion about
strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers
without kids.
But there are other areas where it’s
been more difficult to find agreement over the last seven years – namely what
role the government should play in making sure the system’s not rigged in favor
of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. And here, the American people have
a choice to make.
I believe a thriving private sector
is the lifeblood of our economy. I think there are outdated regulations that
need to be changed, and there’s red tape that needs to be cut. But after years
of record corporate profits, working families won’t get more opportunity or
bigger paychecks by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at the expense of
everyone else; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining to go
unanswered. Food Stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis;
recklessness on Wall Street did. Immigrants aren’t the reason wages haven’t
gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too often put
quarterly earnings over long-term returns. It’s sure not the average family
watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts. In this
new economy, workers and start-ups and small businesses need more of a voice,
not less. The rules should work for them. And this year I plan to lift up the
many businesses who’ve figured out that doing right by their workers ends up
being good for their shareholders, their customers, and their communities, so
that we can spread those best practices across America.
In fact, many of our best corporate
citizens are also our most creative. This brings me to the second big question
we have to answer as a country: how do we reignite that spirit of innovation to
meet our biggest challenges?
Sixty years ago, when the Russians
beat us into space, we didn’t deny Sputnik was up there. We didn’t argue about
the science, or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space
program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon.
That spirit of discovery is in our
DNA. We’re Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver.
We’re Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. We’re every immigrant
and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a
better world. And over the past seven years, we’ve nurtured that spirit.
We’ve protected an open internet,
and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income Americans online.
We’ve launched next-generation manufacturing hubs, and online tools that give
an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a business in a single day.
But we can do so much more. Last
year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure
cancer. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the
National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they’ve had in over a
decade. Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And
because he’s gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past
forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones
we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the
country that cures cancer once and for all.
Medical research is critical. We
need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy
sources.
Look, if anybody still wants to
dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You’ll be pretty lonely,
because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders,
the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community,
and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve
it.
But even if the planet wasn’t at
stake; even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record – until 2015 turned out
even hotter – why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses
to produce and sell the energy of the future?
Seven years ago, we made the single
biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the results. In
fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional
power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of
millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans
than coal – in jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give
homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy – something
environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to support. Meanwhile, we’ve
cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon
pollution more than any other country on Earth.
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t
bad, either.
Now we’ve got to accelerate the
transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should
invest in the future – especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels.
That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal
resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and
our planet. That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of
thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century
transportation system.
None of this will happen overnight,
and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the
status quo. But the jobs we’ll create, the money we’ll save, and the planet
we’ll preserve – that’s the kind of future our kids and grandkids deserve.
Climate change is just one of many
issues where our security is linked to the rest of the world. And that’s why
the third big question we have to answer is how to keep America safe and strong
without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there’s
a problem.
I told you earlier all the talk of
America’s economic decline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric
you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. The
United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not
even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined.
Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. No nation
dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin.
Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to
this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people
of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead – they call us.
As someone who begins every day with
an intelligence briefing, I know this is a dangerous time. But that’s not
because of diminished American strength or some looming superpower. In today’s
world, we’re threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states. The
Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation,
rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. Economic headwinds blow from a
Chinese economy in transition. Even as their economy contracts, Russia is
pouring resources to prop up Ukraine and Syria – states they see slipping away
from their orbit. And the international system we built after World War II is
now struggling to keep pace with this new reality.
It’s up to us to help remake that
system. And that means we have to set priorities.
Priority number one is protecting
the American people and going after terrorist networks. Both al Qaeda and now
ISIL pose a direct threat to our people, because in today’s world, even a
handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own,
can do a lot of damage. They use the Internet to poison the minds of
individuals inside our country; they undermine our allies.
But as we focus on destroying ISIL,
over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play into their hands.
Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in
apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped.
But they do not threaten our national existence. That’s the story ISIL wants to
tell; that’s the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don’t need to build
them up to show that we’re serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in
this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world’s
largest religions. We just need to call them what they are – killers and
fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed.
That’s exactly what we are doing.
For more than a year, America has led a coalition of more than 60 countries to
cut off ISIL’s financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of terrorist
fighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. With nearly 10,000 air strikes,
we are taking out their leadership, their oil, their training camps, and their
weapons. We are training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming
territory in Iraq and Syria.
If this Congress is serious about
winning this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, you
should finally authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Take a vote.
But the American people should know that with or without Congressional action,
ISIL will learn the same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt
America’s commitment – or mine – to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin
Laden. Ask the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who was taken out last year, or the
perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell. When you come
after Americans, we go after you. It may take time, but we have long memories,
and our reach has no limit.
Our foreign policy must be focused
on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda, but it can’t stop there. For even without
ISIL, instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world – in the
Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa
and Asia. Some of these places may become safe havens for new terrorist
networks; others will fall victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the
next wave of refugees. The world will look to us to help solve these problems,
and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb
civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the
world stage.
We also can’t try to take over and
rebuild every country that falls into crisis. That’s not leadership; that’s a
recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately
weakens us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq – and we should have learned it
by now.
Fortunately, there’s a smarter
approach, a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our
national power. It says America will always act, alone if necessary, to protect
our people and our allies; but on issues of global concern, we will mobilize
the world to work with us, and make sure other countries pull their own weight.
That’s our approach to conflicts
like Syria, where we’re partnering with local forces and leading international
efforts to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace.
That’s why we built a global
coalition, with sanctions and principled diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed
Iran. As we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program,
shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war.
That’s how we stopped the spread of
Ebola in West Africa. Our military, our doctors, and our development workers
set up the platform that allowed other countries to join us in stamping out
that epidemic.
That’s how we forged a Trans-Pacific
Partnership to open markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance
American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products Made in America,
and supports more good jobs. With TPP, China doesn’t set the rules in that
region, we do. You want to show our strength in this century? Approve this
agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it.
Fifty years of isolating Cuba had
failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That’s why we
restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and
positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. You want to
consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere? Recognize that
the Cold War is over. Lift the embargo.
American leadership in the 21st century
is not a choice between ignoring the rest of the world – except when we kill
terrorists; or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unraveling.
Leadership means a wise application of military power, and rallying the world
behind causes that are right. It means seeing our foreign assistance as part of
our national security, not charity. When we lead nearly 200 nations to the most
ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change – that helps vulnerable
countries, but it also protects our children. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy,
or Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international
order we depend upon. When we help African countries feed their people and care
for the sick, that prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right
now, we are on track to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS, and we have the capacity
to accomplish the same thing with malaria – something I’ll be pushing this
Congress to fund this year.
That’s strength. That’s leadership.
And that kind of leadership depends on the power of our example. That is why I
will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it’s expensive, it’s
unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies.
That’s why we need to reject any
politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter
of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong.
The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our
diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. His Holiness,
Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that “to
imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to
take their place.” When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is
vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it
like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It
makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country.
“We the People.” Our Constitution
begins with those three simple words, words we’ve come to recognize mean all
the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together. That
brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing I want to say
tonight.
The future we want – opportunity and
security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable,
peaceful planet for our kids – all that is within our reach. But it will only
happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational,
constructive debates.
It will only happen if we fix our
politics.
A better politics doesn’t mean we
have to agree on everything. This is a big country, with different regions and
attitudes and interests. That’s one of our strengths, too. Our Founders
distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to
argue, just as they did, over the size and shape of government, over commerce
and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of
security.
But democracy does require basic
bonds of trust between its citizens. It doesn’t work if we think the people who
disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents
are unpatriotic. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to
compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those
who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices
get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels
their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or
the powerful or some narrow interest.
Too many Americans feel that way
right now. It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency – that the rancor and
suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no
doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better
bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I
hold this office.
But, my fellow Americans, this
cannot be my task – or any President’s – alone. There are a whole lot of folks
in this chamber who would like to see more cooperation, a more elevated debate
in Washington, but feel trapped by the demands of getting elected. I know;
you’ve told me. And if we want a better politics, it’s not enough to just
change a Congressman or a Senator or even a President; we have to change the
system to reflect our better selves.
We have to end the practice of
drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters,
and not the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money in our
politics, so that a handful of families and hidden interests can’t bankroll our
elections – and if our existing approach to campaign finance can’t pass muster
in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution. We’ve got to
make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now. And
over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push for
reforms that do.
But I can’t do these things on my
own. Changes in our political process – in not just who gets elected but how
they get elected – that will only happen when the American people demand it. It
will depend on you. That’s what’s meant by a government of, by, and for the
people.
What I’m asking for is hard. It’s
easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn’t possible, and politics is
hopeless, and to believe that our voices and actions don’t matter. But if we
give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money and power will
gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war,
or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting
rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. As
frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to
scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like
we do, or share the same background.
We can’t afford to go down that
path. It won’t deliver the economy we want, or the security we want, but most
of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.
So, my fellow Americans, whatever
you may believe, whether you prefer one party or no party, our collective
future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To
vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the
vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere,
stood up for us. To stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness
and decency and optimism that I see in the American people every single day.
It won’t be easy. Our brand of
democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer
hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those
voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have
helped America travel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost
as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or
native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, bound by
a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word – voices of
unarmed truth and unconditional love.
They’re out there, those voices.
They don’t get a lot of attention, nor do they seek it, but they are busy doing
the work this country needs doing.
I see them everywhere I travel in
this incredible country of ours. I see you. I know you’re there. You’re the
reason why I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I see your
quiet, sturdy citizenship all the time.
I see it in the worker on the assembly
line who clocked extra shifts to keep his company open, and the boss who pays
him higher wages to keep him on board.
I see it in the Dreamer who stays up
late to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because
he knows she might someday cure a disease.
I see it in the American who served
his time, and dreams of starting over – and the business owner who gives him
that second chance. The protester determined to prove that justice matters, and
the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with respect, doing the
brave, quiet work of keeping us safe.
I see it in the soldier who gives
almost everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ‘til he can
run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on.
It’s the son who finds the courage
to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides
everything he’s been taught.
I see it in the elderly woman who
will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who
casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every
vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that
precious right is worth.
That’s the America I know. That’s
the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and
unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hopeful
about our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That’s why I stand here
confident that the State of our Union is strong.
Thank you, God bless you, and God
bless the United States of America.