奥巴马国情咨文.docx

奥巴马国情咨文.docx

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奥巴马国情咨文

RemarksbythePresidentinStateoftheUnionAddress|January20,2015

U.S.Capitol

Washington,D.C.

9:

10P.M.EST

THEPRESIDENT:

 Mr.Speaker,Mr.VicePresident,MembersofCongress,myfellowAmericans:

Weare15yearsintothisnewcentury. Fifteenyearsthatdawnedwithterrortouchingourshores;thatunfoldedwithanewgenerationfightingtwolongandcostlywars;thatsawaviciousrecessionspreadacrossournationandtheworld. Ithasbeen,andstillis,ahardtimeformany. 

Buttonight,weturnthepage. Tonight,afterabreakthroughyearforAmerica,oureconomyisgrowingandcreatingjobsatthefastestpacesince1999. （Applause.） Ourunemploymentrateisnowlowerthanitwasbeforethefinancialcrisis. Moreofourkidsaregraduatingthaneverbefore. Moreofourpeopleareinsuredthaneverbefore. （Applause.） Andweareasfreefromthegripofforeignoilaswe’vebeeninalmost30years. （Applause.）

Tonight,forthefirsttimesince9/11,ourcombatmissioninAfghanistanisover. （Applause.） Sixyearsago,nearly180,000AmericantroopsservedinIraqandAfghanistan. Today,fewerthan15,000remain. Andwesalutethecourageandsacrificeofeverymanandwomaninthis9/11Generationwhohasservedtokeepussafe. （Applause.） Wearehumbledandgratefulforyourservice.

America,forallthatwehaveendured;forallthegritandhardworkrequiredtocomeback;forallthetasksthatlieahead,knowthis:

 Theshadowofcrisishaspassed,andtheStateoftheUnionisstrong. （Applause.）

Atthismoment--withagrowingeconomy,shrinkingdeficits,bustlingindustry,boomingenergyproduction--wehaverisenfromrecessionfreertowriteourownfuturethananyothernationonEarth. It’snowuptoustochoosewhowewanttobeoverthenext15yearsandfordecadestocome.

Willweacceptaneconomywhereonlyafewofusdospectacularlywell?

 Orwillwecommitourselvestoaneconomythatgeneratesrisingincomesandchancesforeveryonewhomakestheeffort?

 （Applause.）

Willweapproachtheworldfearfulandreactive,draggedintocostlyconflictsthatstrainourmilitaryandsetbackourstanding?

 Orwillweleadwisely,usingallelementsofourpowertodefeatnewthreatsandprotectourplanet?

Willweallowourselvestobesortedintofactionsandturnedagainstoneanother?

 OrwillwerecapturethesenseofcommonpurposethathasalwayspropelledAmericaforward?

Intwoweeks,IwillsendthisCongressabudgetfilledwithideasthatarepractical,notpartisan. Andinthemonthsahead,I’llcrisscrossthecountrymakingacaseforthoseideas. Sotonight,Iwanttofocuslessonachecklistofproposals,andfocusmoreonthevaluesatstakeinthechoicesbeforeus.

Itbeginswithoureconomy. Sevenyearsago,RebekahandBenErlerofMinneapoliswerenewlyweds. （Laughter.） Shewaitedtables. Heworkedconstruction. Theirfirstchild,Jack,wasontheway. TheywereyoungandinloveinAmerica. Anditdoesn’tgetmuchbetterthanthat. “Ifonlywehadknown,”Rebekahwrotetomelastspring,“whatwasabouttohappentothehousingandconstructionmarket.” 

Asthecrisisworsened,Ben’sbusinessdriedup,sohetookwhatjobshecouldfind,eveniftheykepthimontheroadforlongstretchesoftime. Rebekahtookoutstudentloansandenrolledincommunitycollege,andretrainedforanewcareer. Theysacrificedforeachother. Andslowly,itpaidoff. Theyboughttheirfirsthome. Theyhadasecondson,Henry. Rebekahgotabetterjobandthenaraise. Benisbackinconstruction--andhomefordinnereverynight.

“Itisamazing,”Rebekahwrote,“whatyoucanbouncebackfromwhenyouhaveto…weareastrong,tight-knitfamilywhohasmadeitthroughsomevery,veryhardtimes.” Weareastrong,tight-knitfamilywhohasmadeitthroughsomevery,veryhardtimes.

America,RebekahandBen’sstoryisourstory. Theyrepresentthemillionswhohaveworkedhardandscrimped,andsacrificedandretooled. YouarethereasonthatIranforthisoffice. YouarethepeopleIwasthinkingofsixyearsagotoday,inthedarkestmonthsofthecrisis,whenIstoodonthestepsofthisCapitolandpromisedwewouldrebuildoureconomyonanewfoundation. Andithasbeenyourresilience,youreffortthathasmadeitpossibleforourcountrytoemergestronger.

Webelievedwecouldreversethetideofoutsourcinganddrawnewjobstoourshores. Andoverthepastfiveyears,ourbusinesseshavecreatedmorethan11millionnewjobs. （Applause.） 

Webelievedwecouldreduceourdependenceonforeignoilandprotectourplanet. Andtoday,Americaisnumberoneinoilandgas. Americaisnumberoneinwindpower. Everythreeweeks,webringonlineasmuchsolarpoweraswedidinallof2008. （Applause.） Andthankstolowergaspricesandhigherfuelstandards,thetypicalfamilythisyearshouldsaveabout$750atthepump. （Applause.） 

Webelievedwecouldprepareourkidsforamorecompetitiveworld. Andtoday,ouryoungerstudentshaveearnedthehighestmathandreadingscoresonrecord. Ourhighschoolgraduationratehashitanall-timehigh. MoreAmericansfinishcollegethaneverbefore. （Applause.） 

Webelievedthatsensibleregulationscouldpreventanothercrisis,shieldfamiliesfromruin,andencouragefaircompetition. Today,wehavenewtoolstostoptaxpayer-fundedbailouts,andanewconsumerwatchdogtoprotectusfrompredatorylendingandabusivecreditcardpractices. Andinthepastyearalone,about10millionuninsuredAmericansfinallygainedthesecurityofhealthcoverage. （Applause.） 

Ateverystep,weweretoldourgoalsweremisguidedortooambitious;thatwewouldcrushjobsandexplodedeficits. Instead,we’veseenthefastesteconomicgrowthinoveradecade,ourdeficitscutbytwo-thirds,astockmarketthathasdoubled,andhealthcareinflationatitslowestratein50years. （Applause.） Thisisgoodnews,people. （Laughterandapplause.）

Sotheverdictisclear. Middle-classeconomicsworks. Expandingopportunityworks. Andthesepolicieswillcontinuetoworkaslongaspoliticsdon’tgetintheway. Wecan’tslowdownbusinessesorputoureconomyatriskwithgovernmentshutdownsorfiscalshowdowns. Wecan’tputthesecurityoffamiliesatriskbytakingawaytheirhealthinsurance,orunravelingthenewrulesonWallStreet,orrefightingpastbattlesonimmigrationwhenwe’vegottofixabrokensystem. Andifabillcomestomydeskthattriestodoanyofthesethings,Iwillvetoit. Itwillhaveearnedmyveto. （Applause.） 

Today,thankstoagrowingeconomy,therecoveryistouchingmoreandmorelives. Wagesarefinallystartingtoriseagain. Weknowthatmoresmallbusinessownersplantoraisetheiremployees’paythanatanytimesince2007. Buthere’sthething:

 Thoseofusheretonight,weneedtosetoursightshigherthanjustmakingsuregovernmentdoesn’tscrewthingsup;thatgovernmentdoesn’thalttheprogresswe’remaking. Weneedtodomorethanjustdonoharm. Tonight,together,let’sdomoretorestorethelinkbetweenhardworkandgrowingopportunityforeveryAmerican. （Applause.） 

BecausefamilieslikeRebekah’sstillneedourhelp. SheandBenareworkingashardasever,butthey’vehadtoforegovacationsandanewcarsothattheycanpayoffstudentloansandsaveforretirement. Fridaynightpizza,that’sabigsplurge. BasicchildcareforJackandHenrycostsmorethantheirmortgage,andalmostasmuchasayearattheUniversityofMinnesota. LikemillionsofhardworkingAmericans,Rebekahisn’taskingforahandout,butsheisaskingthatwelookformorewaystohelpfamiliesgetahead.

Andinfact,ateverymomentofeconomicchangethroughoutourhistory,thiscountryhastakenboldactiontoadapttonewcircumstancesandtomakesureeveryonegetsafairshot. Wesetupworkerprotections,SocialSecurity,Medicare,Medicaidtoprotectourselvesfromtheharshestadversity. Wegaveourcitizensschoolsandcolleges,infrastructureandtheInternet--toolstheyneededtogoasfarastheireffortandtheirdreamswilltakethem.

That’swhatmiddle-classeconomicsis--theideathatthiscountrydoesbestwheneveryonegetstheirfairshot,everyonedoestheirfairshare,everyoneplaysbythesamesetofrules. （Applause.） Wedon’tjustwanteveryonetoshareinAmerica’ssuccess,wewanteveryonetocontributetooursuccess. （Applause.）

Sowhatdoesmiddle-classeconomicsrequireinourtime?

First,middle-classeconomicsmeanshelpingworkingfamiliesfeelmoresecureinaworldofconstantchange. Thatmeanshelpingfolksaffordchildcare,college,healthcare,ahome,retirement. Andmybudgetwilladdresseachoftheseissues,loweringthetaxesofworkingfamiliesandputtingthousandsofdollarsbackintotheirpocketseachyear. （Applause.）

Here’soneexample. DuringWorldWarII,whenmenlikemygrandfatherwentofftowar,havingwomenlikemygrandmotherintheworkforcewasanationalsecuritypriority--sothiscountryprovideduniversalchildcare. Intoday’seconomy,whenhavingbothparentsintheworkforceisaneconomicnecessityformanyfamilies,weneedaffordable,high-qualitychildcaremorethanever. （Applause.）

It’snotanice-to-have--it’samust-have. Soit’stimewestoptreatingchildcareasasideissue,orasawomen’sissue,andtreatitlikethenationaleconomicprioritythatitisforallofus. （Applause.） Andthat’swhymyplanwillmakequalitychildcaremoreavailableandmoreaffordableforeverymiddle-classandlow-incomefamilywithyoungchildreninAmerica--bycreatingmoreslotsandanewtaxcutofupto$3,000per