HIGHLIGHTS:I wish to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here. The state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others, and rightfully so. You’ve been affected by the economy or you probably know someone who has been affected by the economy. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, and we are living through uncertain times, but tonight I want every American to know this: we will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories, our fields and factories. These qualities have made America the greatest nation in human history. We need to pull together, confront boldly our challenges, and take responsibility for our future once more.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we haven’t met these responsibilities. I say this because by understanding how we reached this moment we will be able to get out of it. We have known for decades that we have to rely on other sources for our energy. We keep delaying reform. Though all of these challenges went unsolved, we still piled up more debt as individuals and as a government than ever before. Too often, short term gains were prized over long term prosperity.
Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of the market. Banks and lenders pushed bad loans anyway. That day of reckoning has arrived and the time to take charge of our future is here. Now is the time to act boldly and wisely. Now is the time to jumpstart job creation and investing. We need to grow our economy and bring our economy down. That is what I’d like to talk to you about tonight.
It’s an agenda that begins with jobs. As soon as I took office, I asked this congress to send me a recovery plan that would send people back to work and money in their pockets. I’m mindful of our debt and involvement, but the failure to act would have lost more jobs and caused more hardship. That’s why I pushed for quick action. Tonight I am grateful that this congress delivered and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.
Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. More than 90% will be in the private sector, laying broadband and expanding mass transit. There are teachers who can now keep their jobs and educate our kids. There are 57 police officers in Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make. Because of this plan, 95% of working households will receive a tax cut which will be in your paychecks on April 1. Families will receive a $2500 tax credit for college. Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will receive employment benefits and extended health care coverage to weather the storm.
There are some in this chamber and watching at home are skeptical. With a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right. I’ve asked Vice-President Biden to lead an oversight effort because nobody messes with Joe. I’ve told everyone they will be held accountable for every dollar they spend. I’ve appointed an inspector general to look after the money and a website – Recovery.org – to track the money spent. Even if we manage this plan flawlessly, we still have to clean up the credit crises that caused this mess.
You should know that your money in the bank is safe. You can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. The concern is that if we do not restart lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins. You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how your finance everything. Credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans have been given. Banks are fearful of lending money. Businesses are forced to make layoffs. Credit dries up further. That is why we are moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle. We will do so in several ways.
First, we are creating a new lending fund that is the largest effort ever to give auto, business, and college loans to consumers to keep this economy running.
Second, we have launched a housing plan to help families lower their payments. It won’t help the speculators, but it will help Americans struggling with home values. In fact, the average family who refinances today can save nearly $2,000 on their mortgage.
Third, we will act with a full force of the federal government to make sure the banks can lend in even more difficult times. We will hold accountable those responsible if banks are in trouble. We will assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our economy. Our goal is to quicken the day when we can restart lending to the American people. This time the banks will have to clearly explain how American taxpayer dollars work for the American taxpayer.
This time CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks. Those days are over. Still, this plan will require significant resources from the American government. The cost of inaction will be far greater. It could result in an economy that sputters along for up to a decade. I refuse to let that happen.
I understand when the last administration asked for assistance for struggling banks, everyone was furious about the results that followed. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen helping banks right now. I get it. But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger or yield to the politics of the moment. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility.
I will not spend a single penny to reward a Wall Street executive. But I will pay a business who can’t pay their workers or a family to pay their mortgage. It’s not about helping banks. It’s about helping people. Because when credit is available again, the family can buy a home. If they can get a loan, they might be able to buy that car. Investors will return to the market. Americans will see their retirement once more. Our economy will recover.
So, I ask this congress to join me in doing whatever is necessary. We cannot have an open-ended recession. We need to have legislation that will finally reform our outdated regulatory system. It is time.
It is time to put in place tough, new common sense rules of the road. The recovery plan and financial stability plan are the immediate, short term steps. We must make the long term investments that lead to new jobs and ability to compete with the rest of the world. We need to confront at last our dependence on oil, health care, and education. That is our responsibility. I will submit a budget to congress in the next few days. They are more than just numbers on a page.
I see this document as a vision for America; as a blueprint for our future. It does not address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited: a trillion-dollar deficit; a financial crisis; and a costly recession. Everyone in this chamber will have to make sacrifices, including me. But that does not mean we can ignore our long term challenges. Our problems will not take care of themselves. Government does have a role. History reminds us that every moment of economic upheaval shows us that this country does have big ideas: railroad tracks from one coast to another; a system of public high schools in the industrial revolution; in the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill created the largest middle class in history. A twilight struggle for freedom led to a man on the moon and technology that still evolves today. We adapt and thrive.
We see promise amid peril. We must be that nation again. While we cut back on programs we don’t need, but invest in three critical areas: energy, health care, and education.
It begins with energy. We know the country that harnesses clean, renewable energy leads the future. China has tried to make their economy energy-efficient. New plug-in hybrids run off our factories with batteries made in Korea. It is time for America to lead again.
Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double our renewable energy supply in three years. We’ve made the largest investment in American history. We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines. We will put Americans to work to make our buildings and homes more efficient. To truly transform our economy from climate change, we need to make clean, renewable energy a profitable kind of energy. Send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That’s what we need. To support that innovation we will invest $15 billion a year in advanced bio fuels and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.
Speaking of our auto industry, we recognize the years of bad decision making that have pushed our automakers to the brink. We are committed to the goal of a re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Jobs and communities are counting on it, and the nation that invented the automobile can’t walk away from it. None of this will come without cost or be easy. This is America. We don’t do what is easy. We do what is necessary to move this country forward.
We have to address the crushing cost of health care. By the year’s end, it can cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. Premiums grow four times faster than wages. It’s a big reason why small businesses shut their doors and ship jobs overseas. We can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can’t afford to do it. It’s time. Already we’ve done more in the last 30 days than the last decade. Days old, this congress passed health insurance for 11 million children whose parents work full time.
Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records. It will launch a new effort to search for a cure for cancer in our lifetime. And it makes the largest investment ever in preventive care because that is one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control. This budget builds on these reforms. It’s a down payment on the principle that we must have quality healthcare for every American. It’s a step we must take to bring down our deficit in the years to come.
I’m bringing businesses, workers, Democrats and Republicans, to get to work on this next week. It will be hard. Nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt called for reform, this has weighed on our conscience long enough. It will not wait another year.
The third challenge is to expand the promise of education in America. A good education is a prerequisite. Right now, 75% of the fastest growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. We have one of the highest high school drop out rates of any industrial nations. We know the countries that out teach us today will out compete us tomorrow. Every child needs access to a complete and competitive education until they begin a career.
Already we’ve made historic investment through the economic recovery plan. We know the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We’ve made college affordable for 7 million students. We’ve provided resources to prevent teacher layoffs. Our schools need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance: pathways for advancement and rewards for success. We will expand our commitment to charter schools. It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make the system work. It is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. Tonight I ask every American to commit to one year or more of higher education or career training. It can be vocational training, community college, or any kind of training. Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s quitting on your country. We need the talents of every American. By 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That’s a goal we can meet.
I know the price of tuition is higher than ever. If you’re willing to volunteer or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure you can afford a higher education. To encourage a renewed spirit for future generations, I ask congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Orrin Hatch and Edward Kennedy. These policies will open the door of opportunity for our children, but it’s up to us to make sure we walk through them. There is no policy that can substitute for a parent that will attend conferences, turn off the TV, read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father, when I say that responsibility for our child’s education must begin at home. That’s not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue; that’s an American issue.
There is another responsibility we have to our children. We must not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay.
The cost of the crisis we face and our long term challenges we face show that we must do what it takes to bring the cost down. I’m proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks. I want to pass a budget next year that reflects our national priorities. I promised to cut our deficit in half during my first term in office. We need to eliminate wasteful programs. We have identified $2 trillion dollars in savings over the next decade. We will end education programs that don’t work and payments to agribusiness that don’t need them. We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq and reform our defense budgets so we’re not paying for Cold War era systems we don’t use. We’ll finally end the tax breaks for businesses that ship our jobs overseas.
In order to save our children from a future of debt, we’ll eliminate tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Let me be clear: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat – not one single dime. In fact – not a dime – in fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut. That’s right, a tax cut, for 95% of working families, and by the way, these checks are on the way.
To preserve our long term fiscal, we must also address Medicare and social security. We need tax-free universal savings accounts for all Americans. We’re also suffering from a deficit of trust. I’m interested in restoring accountability for this budget that covers 10 years, and includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years we’ve been a nation at war. No longer will we hide the price of war. I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that will responsibly end this war.
With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy to combat Al Qaeda. I will not allow people to plot against Americans from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.
As we meet here tonight, our soldiers are ready to deploy and watch from abroad. To each of them, and their families, Americans are united in sending one message: we are inspired by your sacrifice and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the strain on our forces, my budget increased the numbers of Marines. We will give our veterans expanding benefits and health care that they have earned.
We must be vigilant in upholding the values that our troops defend. I have ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay. That is why I can stand here tonight and say that the United States of America does not torture. We can make that commitment here tonight. In words and deeds we are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun. The world cannot meet the challenges without America. We cannot shun the negotiating table. We move forward with confidence and the candor that serious times demand.
To meet the 21st century challenges we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power. We are working with the G20 nations to restore confidence in our financial system and spur demand for Americans across the globe.
As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of the world are upon us watching to see what we do, waiting for us to lead. We’ve been called to govern in extraordinary times: it’s a great burden and privilege; one trusted to few generations of Americans. We can shape our world for good or ill. It’s easy to lose sight of this. In my life I’ve learned that hope is found in unlikely places. Inspiration comes from ordinary Americans who are anything but ordinary.
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories, our fields and factories. These qualities have made America the greatest nation in human history. We need to pull together, confront boldly our challenges, and take responsibility for our future once more.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we haven’t met these responsibilities. I say this because by understanding how we reached this moment we will be able to get out of it. We have known for decades that we have to rely on other sources for our energy. We keep delaying reform. Though all of these challenges went unsolved, we still piled up more debt as individuals and as a government than ever before. Too often, short term gains were prized over long term prosperity.
Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of the market. Banks and lenders pushed bad loans anyway. That day of reckoning has arrived and the time to take charge of our future is here. Now is the time to act boldly and wisely. Now is the time to jumpstart job creation and investing. We need to grow our economy and bring our economy down. That is what I’d like to talk to you about tonight.
It’s an agenda that begins with jobs. As soon as I took office, I asked this congress to send me a recovery plan that would send people back to work and money in their pockets. I’m mindful of our debt and involvement, but the failure to act would have lost more jobs and caused more hardship. That’s why I pushed for quick action. Tonight I am grateful that this congress delivered and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.
Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. More than 90% will be in the private sector, laying broadband and expanding mass transit. There are teachers who can now keep their jobs and educate our kids. There are 57 police officers in Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make. Because of this plan, 95% of working households will receive a tax cut which will be in your paychecks on April 1. Families will receive a $2500 tax credit for college. Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will receive employment benefits and extended health care coverage to weather the storm.
There are some in this chamber and watching at home are skeptical. With a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right. I’ve asked Vice-President Biden to lead an oversight effort because nobody messes with Joe. I’ve told everyone they will be held accountable for every dollar they spend. I’ve appointed an inspector general to look after the money and a website – Recovery.org – to track the money spent. Even if we manage this plan flawlessly, we still have to clean up the credit crises that caused this mess.
You should know that your money in the bank is safe. You can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. The concern is that if we do not restart lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins. You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how your finance everything. Credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans have been given. Banks are fearful of lending money. Businesses are forced to make layoffs. Credit dries up further. That is why we are moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle. We will do so in several ways.
First, we are creating a new lending fund that is the largest effort ever to give auto, business, and college loans to consumers to keep this economy running.
Second, we have launched a housing plan to help families lower their payments. It won’t help the speculators, but it will help Americans struggling with home values. In fact, the average family who refinances today can save nearly $2,000 on their mortgage.
Third, we will act with a full force of the federal government to make sure the banks can lend in even more difficult times. We will hold accountable those responsible if banks are in trouble. We will assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our economy. Our goal is to quicken the day when we can restart lending to the American people. This time the banks will have to clearly explain how American taxpayer dollars work for the American taxpayer.
This time CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks. Those days are over. Still, this plan will require significant resources from the American government. The cost of inaction will be far greater. It could result in an economy that sputters along for up to a decade. I refuse to let that happen.
I understand when the last administration asked for assistance for struggling banks, everyone was furious about the results that followed. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen helping banks right now. I get it. But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger or yield to the politics of the moment. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility.
I will not spend a single penny to reward a Wall Street executive. But I will pay a business who can’t pay their workers or a family to pay their mortgage. It’s not about helping banks. It’s about helping people. Because when credit is available again, the family can buy a home. If they can get a loan, they might be able to buy that car. Investors will return to the market. Americans will see their retirement once more. Our economy will recover.
So, I ask this congress to join me in doing whatever is necessary. We cannot have an open-ended recession. We need to have legislation that will finally reform our outdated regulatory system. It is time.
It is time to put in place tough, new common sense rules of the road. The recovery plan and financial stability plan are the immediate, short term steps. We must make the long term investments that lead to new jobs and ability to compete with the rest of the world. We need to confront at last our dependence on oil, health care, and education. That is our responsibility. I will submit a budget to congress in the next few days. They are more than just numbers on a page.
I see this document as a vision for America; as a blueprint for our future. It does not address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited: a trillion-dollar deficit; a financial crisis; and a costly recession. Everyone in this chamber will have to make sacrifices, including me. But that does not mean we can ignore our long term challenges. Our problems will not take care of themselves. Government does have a role. History reminds us that every moment of economic upheaval shows us that this country does have big ideas: railroad tracks from one coast to another; a system of public high schools in the industrial revolution; in the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill created the largest middle class in history. A twilight struggle for freedom led to a man on the moon and technology that still evolves today. We adapt and thrive.
We see promise amid peril. We must be that nation again. While we cut back on programs we don’t need, but invest in three critical areas: energy, health care, and education.
It begins with energy. We know the country that harnesses clean, renewable energy leads the future. China has tried to make their economy energy-efficient. New plug-in hybrids run off our factories with batteries made in Korea. It is time for America to lead again.
Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double our renewable energy supply in three years. We’ve made the largest investment in American history. We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines. We will put Americans to work to make our buildings and homes more efficient. To truly transform our economy from climate change, we need to make clean, renewable energy a profitable kind of energy. Send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That’s what we need. To support that innovation we will invest $15 billion a year in advanced bio fuels and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.
Speaking of our auto industry, we recognize the years of bad decision making that have pushed our automakers to the brink. We are committed to the goal of a re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Jobs and communities are counting on it, and the nation that invented the automobile can’t walk away from it. None of this will come without cost or be easy. This is America. We don’t do what is easy. We do what is necessary to move this country forward.
We have to address the crushing cost of health care. By the year’s end, it can cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. Premiums grow four times faster than wages. It’s a big reason why small businesses shut their doors and ship jobs overseas. We can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can’t afford to do it. It’s time. Already we’ve done more in the last 30 days than the last decade. Days old, this congress passed health insurance for 11 million children whose parents work full time.
Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records. It will launch a new effort to search for a cure for cancer in our lifetime. And it makes the largest investment ever in preventive care because that is one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control. This budget builds on these reforms. It’s a down payment on the principle that we must have quality healthcare for every American. It’s a step we must take to bring down our deficit in the years to come.
I’m bringing businesses, workers, Democrats and Republicans, to get to work on this next week. It will be hard. Nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt called for reform, this has weighed on our conscience long enough. It will not wait another year.
The third challenge is to expand the promise of education in America. A good education is a prerequisite. Right now, 75% of the fastest growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. We have one of the highest high school drop out rates of any industrial nations. We know the countries that out teach us today will out compete us tomorrow. Every child needs access to a complete and competitive education until they begin a career.
Already we’ve made historic investment through the economic recovery plan. We know the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We’ve made college affordable for 7 million students. We’ve provided resources to prevent teacher layoffs. Our schools need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance: pathways for advancement and rewards for success. We will expand our commitment to charter schools. It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make the system work. It is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. Tonight I ask every American to commit to one year or more of higher education or career training. It can be vocational training, community college, or any kind of training. Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s quitting on your country. We need the talents of every American. By 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That’s a goal we can meet.
I know the price of tuition is higher than ever. If you’re willing to volunteer or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure you can afford a higher education. To encourage a renewed spirit for future generations, I ask congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Orrin Hatch and Edward Kennedy. These policies will open the door of opportunity for our children, but it’s up to us to make sure we walk through them. There is no policy that can substitute for a parent that will attend conferences, turn off the TV, read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father, when I say that responsibility for our child’s education must begin at home. That’s not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue; that’s an American issue.
There is another responsibility we have to our children. We must not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay.
The cost of the crisis we face and our long term challenges we face show that we must do what it takes to bring the cost down. I’m proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks. I want to pass a budget next year that reflects our national priorities. I promised to cut our deficit in half during my first term in office. We need to eliminate wasteful programs. We have identified $2 trillion dollars in savings over the next decade. We will end education programs that don’t work and payments to agribusiness that don’t need them. We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq and reform our defense budgets so we’re not paying for Cold War era systems we don’t use. We’ll finally end the tax breaks for businesses that ship our jobs overseas.
In order to save our children from a future of debt, we’ll eliminate tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Let me be clear: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat – not one single dime. In fact – not a dime – in fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut. That’s right, a tax cut, for 95% of working families, and by the way, these checks are on the way.
To preserve our long term fiscal, we must also address Medicare and social security. We need tax-free universal savings accounts for all Americans. We’re also suffering from a deficit of trust. I’m interested in restoring accountability for this budget that covers 10 years, and includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years we’ve been a nation at war. No longer will we hide the price of war. I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that will responsibly end this war.
With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy to combat Al Qaeda. I will not allow people to plot against Americans from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.
As we meet here tonight, our soldiers are ready to deploy and watch from abroad. To each of them, and their families, Americans are united in sending one message: we are inspired by your sacrifice and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the strain on our forces, my budget increased the numbers of Marines. We will give our veterans expanding benefits and health care that they have earned.
We must be vigilant in upholding the values that our troops defend. I have ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay. That is why I can stand here tonight and say that the United States of America does not torture. We can make that commitment here tonight. In words and deeds we are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun. The world cannot meet the challenges without America. We cannot shun the negotiating table. We move forward with confidence and the candor that serious times demand.
To meet the 21st century challenges we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power. We are working with the G20 nations to restore confidence in our financial system and spur demand for Americans across the globe.
As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of the world are upon us watching to see what we do, waiting for us to lead. We’ve been called to govern in extraordinary times: it’s a great burden and privilege; one trusted to few generations of Americans. We can shape our world for good or ill. It’s easy to lose sight of this. In my life I’ve learned that hope is found in unlikely places. Inspiration comes from ordinary Americans who are anything but ordinary.
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