Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
Tonight marks the eighth year I've come here toreport on the State of the Union. And for this finalone, I'm going to try to make it shorter. I knowsome of you are antsy to get back to Iowa.
I also understand that because it's an electionseason, expectations for what we'll achieve this yearare low. Still, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate theconstructive approach you and the other leaders took at the end of last year to pass abudget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. So I hope we can work togetherthis year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who arebattling 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'tworry, I've got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizingmedical treatments for patients. And I'll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needsdoing. Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal payfor equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter tohardworking 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 wantto 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 waywe work, our planet and our place in the world. It's change that promises amazing medicalbreakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. It promiseseducation for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an oceanaway. It's change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality. And whether we like itor not, the pace of this change will only accelerate.
America has been through big changes before – wars and depression, the influx ofimmigrants, 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 onchange, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that wasthreatening America under control. And each time, we overcame those fears. We did not, inthe words of Lincoln, adhere to the “dogmas of the quiet past.” Instead we thought anew, andacted anew. We made change work for us, always extending America's promise outward, to thenext frontier, to more and more people. And because we did – because we saw opportunitywhere 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 andwork ethic, our spirit of discovery and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the ruleof law – these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security forgenerations to come.
In fact, it's that spirit that made the progress of these past seven years possible. It's how werecovered from the worst economic crisis in generations. It's how we reformed our health caresystem, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to ourtroops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person welove.
But such progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we facesuch choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward asa nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidencein 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 comesto 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, hasthe strongest, most durable economy in the world. We're in the middle of the longest streakof private-sector job creation in history. More than 14 million new jobs; the strongest two yearsof job growth since the ‘90s; an unemployment rate cut in half. Our auto industry just had itsbest year ever. Manufacturing has created nearly 900,000 new jobs in the past six years. Andwe'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 – andthe reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious – is that the economy has been changing inprofound 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 canbe automated. Companies in a global economy can locate anywhere, and face toughercompetition. As a result, workers have less leverage for a raise. Companies have less loyaltyto their communities. And more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top.
All these trends have squeezed workers, even whenthey have jobs; even when the economy is growing.It's made it harder for a hardworking family to pullitself out of poverty, harder for young people tostart on their careers, and tougher for workers toretire when they want to. And although none ofthese trends are unique to America, they do offendour uniquely American belief that everybody whoworks hard should get a fair shot.
For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that works better foreverybody. We've made progress. But we need to make more. And despite all the politicalarguments we've had these past few years, there are some areas where Americans broadlyagree.
We agree that real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training theyneed to land a good-paying job. The bipartisan reform of No Child Left Behind was animportant start, and together, we've increased early childhood education, lifted high schoolgraduation rates to new highs, and boosted graduates in fields like engineering. In the comingyears, we should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for all, offering every student thehands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and weshould recruit and support more great teachers for our kids.
And we have to make college affordable for every American. Because no hardworking studentshould be stuck in the red. We've already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of aborrower's income. Now, we've actually got to cut the cost of college. Providing two years ofcommunity 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 andprotections that provide a basic measure of security. After all, it's not much of a stretch tosay that some of the only people in America who are going to work the same job, in the sameplace, with a health and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in this chamber. Foreveryone else, especially folks in their forties and fifties, saving for retirement or bouncing backfrom job loss has gotten a lot tougher. Americans understand that at some point in theircareers, they may have to retool and retrain. But they shouldn't lose what they've alreadyworked so hard to build.
That's why Social Security and Medicare are more important than ever; we shouldn't weakenthem, we should strengthen them. And for Americans short of retirement, basic benefitsshould be just as mobile as everything else is today. That's what the Affordable Care Act is allabout. It's about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go backto school, or start that new business, we'll still have coverage. Nearly eighteen million havegained coverage so far. Health care inflation has slowed. And our businesses have created jobsevery single month since it became law.
Now, I'm guessing we won't agree on health care anytime soon. But there should be other waysboth parties can improve economic security. Say a hardworking American loses his job – weshouldn't just make sure he can get unemployment insurance; we should make sure thatprogram encourages him to retrain for a business that's ready to hire him. If that new jobdoesn't pay as much, there should be a system of wage insurance in place so that he can stillpay his bills. And even if he's going from job to job, he should still be able to save forretirement and take his savings with him. That's the way we make the new economy workbetter for everyone.
I also know Speaker Ryan has talked about his interest in tackling poverty. America is aboutgiving everybody willing to work a hand up, and I'd welcome a serious discussion aboutstrategies 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 sevenyears – namely what role the government should play in making sure the system's not rigged infavor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. And here, the American people have a choiceto make.
I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy. I think there are outdatedregulations that need to be changed, and there's red tape that needs to be cut. But after yearsof record corporate profits, working families won't get more opportunity or bigger paychecksby letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at the expense of everyoneelse; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered. Food Stamp recipientsdidn't cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did. Immigrants aren't the reasonwages haven't gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too oftenput quarterly earnings over long-term returns. It's sure not the average family watching tonightthat 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. Andthis year I plan to lift up the many businesses who've figured out that doing right by theirworkers ends up being good for their shareholders, their customers, and their communities, sothat we can spread those best practices across America.
In fact, many of our best corporate citizens are alsoour most creative. This brings me to the second bigquestion we have to answer as a country: how do wereignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggestchallenges?
Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us intospace, we didn't deny Sputnik was up there. Wedidn't argue about the science, or shrink ourresearch and development budget. We built a spaceprogram 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 andGeorge Washington Carver. We're Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. We'reevery immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape abetter 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 toolsthat 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 theNational 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 ofus, 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 countrythat cures cancer once and for all.
Medical research is critical. We need the same level of commitment when it comes todeveloping clean energy sources.
Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You'll bepretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, themajority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nationsaround 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 – until2015 turned out even hotter – why would we want to pass up the chance for Americanbusinesses 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 arethe results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventionalpower. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions ofdollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal – in jobs that paybetter than average. We're taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate andstore their own energy – something environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up tosupport. Meanwhile, we've cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbonpollution 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 thepast, we should invest in the future – especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That'swhy I'm going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that theybetter reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put moneyback into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21stcentury transportation system.
None of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests whowant to protect the status quo. But the jobs we'll create, the money we'll save, and the planetwe'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 andstrong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there's a problem.
I told you earlier all the talk of America's economicdecline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoricyou hear about our enemies getting stronger andAmerica getting weaker. The United States ofAmerica is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period.It's not even close. We spend more on our militarythan the next eight nations combined. Our troopsare the finest fighting force in the history of theworld. No nation dares to attack us or our alliesbecause they know that's the path to ruin. Surveysshow our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and whenit comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing orMoscow to lead – they call us.
As someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing, I know this is a dangeroustime. But that's not because of diminished American strength or some looming superpower. Intoday's world, we're threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states. The Middle Eastis going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts thatdate back millennia. Economic headwinds blow from a Chinese economy in transition. Even astheir economy contracts, Russia is pouring resources to prop up Ukraine and Syria – statesthey see slipping away from their orbit. And the international system we built after World War IIis 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. Bothal Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct threat to our people, because in today's world, even ahandful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a lot ofdamage. They use the Internet to poison the minds of individuals inside our country; theyundermine our allies.
But as we focus on destroying ISIL, over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play intotheir hands. Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting inapartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But theydo not threaten our national existence. That's the story ISIL wants to tell; that's the kind ofpropaganda 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 isrepresentative 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 morethan 60 countries to cut off ISIL's financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of terroristfighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. With nearly 10,000 air strikes, we are takingout 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 troopsand 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 learnthe 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, whowas 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 longmemories, and our reach has no limit.
Our foreign policy must be focused on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda, but it can't stopthere. 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 victimto ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. The world will look to us tohelp solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpetbomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn't pass muster on the worldstage.
We also can't try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. That's notleadership; that's a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimatelyweakens 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 everyelement of our national power. It says America will always act, alone if necessary, to protectour people and our allies; but on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to workwith 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 leadinginternational 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 anuclear-armed Iran. As we speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out itsuranium 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 ourdevelopment workers set up the platform that allowed other countries to join us in stampingout that epidemic.
That's how we forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open markets, protect workers and theenvironment, and advance American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products Madein 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 thetools to enforce it.
Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promotedemocracy, setting us back in Latin America. That'swhy we restored diplomatic relations, opened thedoor to travel and commerce, and positionedourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.You want to consolidate our leadership andcredibility in the hemisphere? Recognize that theCold War is over. Lift the embargo.
American leadership in the 21st century is not achoice between ignoring the rest of the world – except when we kill terrorists; or occupying andrebuilding whatever society is unraveling. Leadership means a wise application of militarypower, and rallying the world behind causes that are right. It means seeing our foreignassistance as part of our national security, not charity. When we lead nearly 200 nations tothe most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change – that helps vulnerablecountries, but it also protects our children. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, orColombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the international order we dependupon. When we help African countries feed their people and care for the sick, that prevents thenext pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, we are on track to end the scourge ofHIV/AIDS, and we have the capacity to accomplish the same thing with malaria – somethingI'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 ourexample. That is why I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it'sexpensive, 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. Thisisn't a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of understanding what makes us strong. Theworld respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our opennessand the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the veryspot I stand tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is thebest way to take their place.” When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, ora kid bullied, that doesn't make us safer. That's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong. Itdiminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrayswho we are as a country.
“We the People.” Our Constitution begins with those three simple words, words we've come torecognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together. Thatbrings 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 anda sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids – all that is within our reach. But it will only happenif 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, withdifferent regions and attitudes and interests. That's one of our strengths, too. Our Foundersdistributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, justas 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 wethink the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our politicalopponents 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. Ourpublic life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracybreaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter; that the system isrigged 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'sno 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 awhole lot of folks in this chamber who would like to see more cooperation, a more elevateddebate in Washington, but feel trapped by the demands of getting elected. I know; you've toldme. And if we want a better politics, it's not enough to just change a Congressman or aSenator 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 picktheir voters, and not the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money in ourpolitics, so that a handful of families and hidden interests can't bankroll our elections – and ifour existing approach to campaign finance can't pass muster in the courts, we need to worktogether to find a real solution. We've got to make voting easier, not harder, and modernizeit for the way we live now. And over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country topush for reforms that do.
But I can't do these things on my own. Changes inour political process – in not just who gets electedbut how they get elected – that will only happenwhen the American people demand it. It will dependon 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 ishopeless, and to believe that our voices and actionsdon't matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money andpower will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, orallow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights thatgenerations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. As frustration grows, there willbe 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 securitywe 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. Tovote. 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 stayactive in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism that I see in theAmerican 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 thosevoices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped Americatravel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asianor 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 finalword – 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 theyare 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'rethere. You're the reason why I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I seeyour 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 whocomes 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 businessowner who gives him that second chance. The protester determined to prove that justicematters, 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 tohim ‘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 thatson 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 newcitizen who casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote shouldcount, 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 thatunarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That's what makes me so hopefulabout our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That's why I stand here confident that theState of our Union is strong.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
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