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Title:
Watch President Obama Deliver the 2013 State of the Union Address
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Description:
President Barack Obama delivered the 2013 State of the Union address, his first since being elected to a second term, where he focused on 'smarter government' over larger government, education reform, immigration reform, equal pay and equality for women, gun control and other goals for the country.
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JOHN BOEHNER: Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you,
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the President of the United States. (Applause.)
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Thank you. (Continued applause.)
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Thank you so much. Thank you.
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Thank you very much.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President,
members of Congress, fellow Americans:
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Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared
to this chamber that “the Constitution makes
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us not rivals for power but partners for progress.”
(Applause.)
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“It is my task,” he said,“to report the State of the Union -- to improve it is the task of us all.”
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Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination
of the American people,
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there is much progress to report.
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After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. (Applause.)
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After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs.
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We buy more American cars than we have in five years,
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and less foreign oil than we have in 20. (Applause.)
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Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding,
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and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before. (Applause.)
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So, together, we have cleared away the rubble
of crisis,
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and we can say with renewed confidence that the State of our Union is stronger. (Applause.)
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But we gather here knowing that there are
millions of Americans
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whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded.
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Our economy is adding jobs -- but too many people still can’t find full-time employment.
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Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs
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-- but for more than a decade, wages and incomes
have barely budged.
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It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite
the true engine of America’s economic growth
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-- a rising, thriving middle class. (Applause.)
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It is -- (Applause)
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It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country --
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the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead,
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no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, or who you love.
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It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many,
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and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative,
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and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation. (Applause.)
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The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem.
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They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue.
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But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party. (Applause.)
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They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can.
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For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together,
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and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all.
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Our work must begin by making some basic decisions
about our budget --
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decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery.
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Over the last few years, both parties have
worked together to reduce the deficit
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by more than $2.5 trillion -- mostly through spending
cuts,
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but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
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As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction
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that economists say we need to stabilize our finances.
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Now we need to finish the job. And the question is, how?
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In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn’t agree
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on a plan to reach our deficit goal,
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about a trillion dollars’ worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year.
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These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness.
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They’d devastate priorities like education, and energy, and medical research.
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They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs.
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That’s why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists
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have already said that these cuts, known here in Washington as the sequester, are a really bad idea.
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Now, some in Congress have proposed preventing
only the defense cuts
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by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training,
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Medicare and Social Security benefits.
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That idea is even worse. (Applause.)
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Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt
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is the rising cost of health care for an aging population.
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And those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms
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-- otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children,
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and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations.
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But we can’t ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction
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while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful. (Applause.)
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We won’t grow the middle class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college
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onto families that are already struggling,
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or by forcing communities to lay off more teachers and more cops and more firefighters.
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Most Americans -- Democrats, Republicans, and independents --
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understand that we can’t just cut our way to prosperity.
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They know that broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction,
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with spending cuts and revenue, and with everybody
doing their fair share.
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And that’s the approach I offer tonight.
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On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings
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by the beginning of the next decade
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as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission. (Applause.)
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Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. (Applause.)
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And the reforms I’m proposing go even further.
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We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies
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and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. (Applause.)
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We’ll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare,
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because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital;
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they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive. (Applause.)
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And I am open to additional reforms from both parties,
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so long as they don’t violate the guarantee of a secure retirement.
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Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep --
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but we must keepthe promises we’ve already made. (Applause.)
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To hit the rest of our deficit reduction target,
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we should do what leaders in both parties have already suggested,
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and save hundreds of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions
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for the well-off and the well-connected.
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After all, why would we choose to make deeper cuts to education and Medicare,
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just to protect special interest tax breaks?
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How is that fair?
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Why is it that deficit reduction is a big emergency justifying making cuts in Social Security benefits
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but not closing some loopholes?
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How does that promote growth? (Applause.)
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Now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform
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that encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. (Applause.)
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We can get this done. (Applause.)
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The American people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses spend less time
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filling out complicated forms, and more time expanding and hiring --
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a tax code that ensures billionaires with high-powered accountants can’t work the system
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and pay a lower rate than their hardworking secretaries;
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a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas,
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and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers
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that are creating jobs right here in the United States of America.
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That’s what tax reform can deliver. That’s what we can do together. (Applause.)
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I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy.
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The politics will be hard for both sides.
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None of us will get 100 percent of what we want.
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But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our economy,
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visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans.
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So let’s set party interests aside and work
to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts
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with smart savings and wise investments in
our future.
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And let’s do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors. (Applause.)
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The greatest nation on Earth (Applause.)
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The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business
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by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next. (Applause.)
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We can't do it. (Applause.)
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Let’s agree. Let's agree right here, right now to keep the people’s government open,
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and pay our bills on time,
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and always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America. (Applause.)
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The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis
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to see their elected officials cause another. (Applause.)
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Now, most of us agree that a plan to reducethe deficit must be part of our agenda.
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But let’s be clear, deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan. (Applause.)
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A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs --
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that must be the North Star that guides our efforts (Applause.)
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Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation:
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How do we attract more jobs to our shores?
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How do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs?
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And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?
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A year and a half ago, I put forward an American Jobs Act
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that independent economists said would create more than 1 million new jobs.
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And I thank the last Congress for passing some of that agenda.
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I urge this Congress to pass the rest. (Applause.)
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But tonight, I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for
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and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago.
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Let me repeat -- nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime.
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It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government
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that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth. (Applause.)
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That's what we should be looking for. (Applause.)
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Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing.
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After shedding jobs for more than 10 years,
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our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.
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Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico.
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And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again. (Applause.)
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There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend.
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Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio.
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A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing
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that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.
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There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns.
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So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs,
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where businesses will partner with the Department of Defense and Energy
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to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs.
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And I ask this Congress to help create a network of 15 of these hubs
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and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in America.
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We can get that done. (Applause.)
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Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas.
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Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy -- every dollar.
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Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s.
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They’re developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs;
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devising new material to make batteries 10 times more powerful.
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Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation.
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Now is the time to reach a level of research and development
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not seen since the height of the Space Race.
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We need to make those investments. (Applause.)
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Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy.
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After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to control our own energy future.
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We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years (Applause.)
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We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas,
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and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar --
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with tens of thousands of good American jobs to show for it.
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We produce more natural gas than ever before -- and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it.
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And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution
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that threatens our planet have actually fallen.
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But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. (Applause.)
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Now, it’s true that no single event makes a trend.
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But the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15.
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Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods -- all are now more frequent and more intense.
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We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades,
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and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence.
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Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science --
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and act before it’s too late. (Applause.)
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Now, the good news is we can make meaningful progress on this issue
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while driving strong economic growth.
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I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change,
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like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago.
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But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will.
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I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future,
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to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change,
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and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
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Four years ago, other countries dominated the clean energy market
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and the jobs that came with it.
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And we’ve begun to change that.
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Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America.
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So let’s generate even more.
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Solar energy gets cheaper by the year -- let’s drive down costs even further.
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As long as countries like China keep going all in on clean energy, so must we.
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Now, in the meantime, the natural gas boom
has led to cleaner power
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and greater energy independence. We need to encourage that.
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And that’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape
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and speeding up new oil and gas permits.
(Applause.)
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That’s got to be part of an all-of-the-above plan.
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But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the research and technology
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that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and our water.
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In fact, much of our new-found energy is drawn
from lands and waters that we,
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the public, own together.
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So tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust
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that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good.
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If a nonpartisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea,
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then so can we.
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Let’s take their advice and free our families and businesses
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from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long.
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I’m also issuing a new goal for America:
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Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years. (Applause.)
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We'll work with the states to do it.
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Those states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills
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by constructing more efficient buildings will receive federal support to help make that happen.
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America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair.
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Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and hire --
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a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with high-speed rail and Internet;
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high-tech schools, self-healing power grids.
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The CEO of Siemens America -- a company that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina --
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said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs.
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And that’s the attitude of a lot of companies all around the world.
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And I know you want these job-creating projects in your district.
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I’ve seen all those ribbon-cuttings. (Laughter.)
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So tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program
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to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs,
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like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. (Applause.)
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And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden,
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I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital
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to upgrade what our businesses need most:
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modern ports to move our goods, modern pipelines to withstand a storm,
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modern schools worthy of our children. (Applause.)
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Let’s prove that there’s no better place to do business than here in the United States of America,
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and let’s start right away. We can get this done.
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And part of our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector.
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The good news is our housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007.
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Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years.
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Home purchases are up nearly 50 percent, and construction is expanding again.
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But even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low,
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too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected.
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Too many families who never missed a payment and want to refinance are being told no.
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That’s holding our entire economy back. We need to fix it.
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Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress
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that would give every responsible homeowner in America
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the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates.
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Democrats and Republicans have supported it before, so what are we waiting for?
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Take a vote, and send me that bill. (Applause.)
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Why would we be against that? (Applause.)
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Why would that be a partisan issue, helping folks refinance?
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Right now, overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home.
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What’s holding us back? Let’s streamline the process, and help our economy grow.
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These initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, housing --
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all these things will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand and create new jobs.
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But none of it will matter unless we also equip our citizens with the skills and training
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to fill those jobs. (Applause.)
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And that has to start at the earliest possible age.
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You know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning,
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the better he or she does down the road.
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But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program.
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Most middle-class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks a week for a private preschool.
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And for poor kids who need help the most,
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this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives.
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So tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool
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available to every single child in America. (Applause.)
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That's something we should be able to do. (Applause.)
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Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education
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can save more than seven dollars later on --
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by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime.
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In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like Georgia or Oklahoma,
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studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level,
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graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own.
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We know this works.
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So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.
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Let’s give our kids that chance. (Applause.)
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Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job.
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Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating their high school students
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with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges.
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So those German kids, they're ready for a job when they graduate high school.
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They've been trained for the jobs that are there.
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Now at schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn,
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a collaboration between New York Public Schools and City University of New York and IBM,
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students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering.
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We need to give every American student opportunities
like this. (Applause.)
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And four years ago -- four years ago, we started Race to the Top --
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a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards,
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all for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year.
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Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools
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so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy.
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And we’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers,
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and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering and math --
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the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now
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and will be there in the future.
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Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need some higher education.
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It’s a simple fact the more education you’ve got,
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the more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the middle class.
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But today, skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education,
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or saddle them with unsustainable debt.
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Through tax credits, grants and better loans, we’ve made college more affordable
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for millions of students and families over the last few
years.
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But taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education.
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Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s our job to make sure that they do. (Applause.)
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So tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act
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so that affordability and value are included in determining
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which colleges receive certain types of federal aid. (Applause.)
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And -- and tomorrow, my administration will release a new “College Scorecard”
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that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria --
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where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.
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Now, to grow our middle class, our citizens have to have access to the education and training
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that today’s jobs require.
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But we also have to make sure that America remains a place where everyone who’s willing to work --
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everybody who’s willing to work hard has the chance to get ahead.
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Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. (Applause.)
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And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, faith communities --
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they all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
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Now is the time to do it. Now is the time to get it done. (Applause.)
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Now is the time to get it done. (Applause.)
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Real reform means strong border security,
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and we can build on the progress my administration has already made --
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putting more boots on the Southern border than at any time in our history
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and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.
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Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship --
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a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty
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learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. (Applause.)
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And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods
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and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers
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that will help create jobs and grow our economy (Applause.)
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In other words, we know what needs to be done.
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And as we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill,
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and I applaud their efforts. So let’s get this done.
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Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away.
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And America will be better for it. Let's get it done. Let's get it done. (Applause.)
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But we can’t stop there.
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We know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our daughters
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can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace,
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and free from the fear of domestic violence.
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Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act
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that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago.
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And I now urge the House to do the same. (Applause.)
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Good job, Joe. (Applause.)
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And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts,
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and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year. (Applause.)
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We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages.
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But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year.
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Even with the tax relief we put in place, a family with two
kids that earns the minimum wage
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still lives below the poverty line.
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That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage,
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19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.
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Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth,
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no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty,
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and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. (Applause.)
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We should be able to get that done. (Applause.)
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This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families.
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It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction;
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scraping by or finally getting ahead.
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For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets.
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And a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from government.
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In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year
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for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher.
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So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year --
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let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living,
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so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on. (Applause.)
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Tonight, let’s also recognize that there are communities in this country
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where no matter how hard you work, it is virtually impossible to get ahead.
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Factory towns decimated from years of plants packing up.
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Inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural, where young adults are still fighting for their first job.
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America is not a place where the chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny.
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And that’s why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class
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for all who are willing to climb them.
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Let’s offer incentives to companies that hire Americans
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who’ve got what it takes to fill that job opening,
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but have been out of work so long that no one will give them a chance anymore.
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Let’s put people back to work rebuilding vacant homes in run-down neighborhoods.
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And this year, my administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in America
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to get these communities back on their feet.
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We’ll work with local leaders to target resources at public safety, and education, and housing.
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We’ll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and invest.
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And we’ll work to strengthen families
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by removing the financial deterrents to marriage for low-income couples,
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and do more to encourage fatherhood --
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because what makes you a man isn’t the ability to conceive a child;
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it’s having the courage to raise one.
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And we want to encourage that. We want to help that. (Applause.)
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Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America.
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It is this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle class --
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that has always been the source of our progress at home.
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It’s also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world.
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Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troop and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us.
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Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan
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and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda. (Applause.)
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Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women.
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This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead.
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Tonight, I can announce that over the next year,
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another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan.
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This drawdown will continue and by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over. (Applause.)
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Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure,
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but the nature of our commitment will change.
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We're negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions --
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training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos,
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and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates.
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Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self. (Applause.)
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It's true, different al Qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged --
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from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa.
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The threat these groups pose is evolving.
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But to meet this threat,
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we don’t need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad or occupy other nations.
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Instead, we'll need to help countries like Yemen, and Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security,
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and help allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali.
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And where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action
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against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans. (Applause.)
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Now, as we do, we must enlist our values in
the fight.
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That's why my administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy framework
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to guide our counterterrorism efforts.
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Throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts.
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And I recognize that in our democracy,
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no one should just take my word for it that we’re doing things the right way.
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So in the months ahead, I will continue to engage Congress to ensure
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not only that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent
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with our laws and system of checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent
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to the American people and to the world. (Applause.)
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Of course, our challenges don’t end with al Qaeda.
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America will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world’s most dangerous weapons.
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The regime in North Korea must know they will only achieve security and prosperity
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by meeting their international obligations.
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Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them,
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as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense
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and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats.
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Likewise, the leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution,
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because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations,
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and we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)
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At the same time, we’ll engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals,
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and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials
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that could fall into the wrong hands -- because our ability to influence others
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depends on our willingness to lead and meet our obligations.
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America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks. (Applause.)
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Now, we know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private emails.
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We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets.
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Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid,
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our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems.
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We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing
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in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.
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And that’s why, earlier today, I signed a new executive order
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that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing,
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and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy. (Applause.)
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But now -- now Congress must act as well, by passing legislation to give our government
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a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks.
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This is something we should be able to get done on a bipartisan basis. (Applause.)
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Now, even as we protect our people,
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we should remember that today’s world presents not just dangers, not just threats,
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it presents opportunities.
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To boost American exports, support American jobs
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and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia,
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we intend to complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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And tonight, I’m announcing that we will launch talks
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on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union --
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because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic
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supports millions of good-paying American jobs. (Applause.)
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We also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all --
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not only because it creates new markets, more stable order in certain regions of the world,
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but also because it’s the right thing to do.
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You know, in many places, people live on little more than a dollar a day.
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So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty
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in the next two decades by connecting more people to the global economy;
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by empowering women; by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve,
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and helping communities to feed, empower, and educate themselves;
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by saving the world’schildren from preventable deaths;
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and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation, which is within our reach. (Applause.)
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You see, America must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom during this period of historic change.
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I saw the power of hope last year in Rangoon, in Burma, when Aung San Suu Kyi
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welcomed an American President into the home where she had been imprisoned for years;
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when thousands of Burmese lined the streets, waving American flags,
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including a man who said:
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“There is justice and law in the United States. I want our country to be like that.”
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In defense of freedom, we’ll remain the anchor of strong alliances
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from the Americas to Africa; from Europe to Asia.
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In the Middle East,we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights,
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and support stable transitions to democracy. (Applause.)
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We know the process will be messy,
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and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like Egypt,
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but we can -- and will -- insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people.
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We’ll keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people,
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and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian.
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And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace. (Applause.)
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These are the messages I'll deliver when I travel to the Middle East next month.
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And all this work depends on the courage and sacrifice
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of those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk –-
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our diplomats, our intelligence officers, and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
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As long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will do whatever we must
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to protect those who serve their country abroad,
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and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known. (Applause.)
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We'll invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime spending.
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We will ensure equal treatment for all service members,
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and equal benefits for their families -- gay and straight. (Applause.)
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We will draw upon the courage and skills of our sisters and daughters and moms,
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because women have proven under fire that they are ready for combat.
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We will keep faith with our veterans, investing in world-class care,
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including mental healthcare, for our wounded warriors -- (applause)
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supporting our military families; giving our veterans the benefits and education
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and job opportunities that they have earned.
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And I want to thank my wife, Michelle, and Dr. Jill Biden for their continued dedication
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to serving our military families as well as they have served us.
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Thank you, honey. Thank you, Jill. (Applause.)
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Defending our freedom, though, is not just the job of our military alone.
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We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home.
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That includes one of the most fundamental right of a democracy:
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the right to vote. (Applause.)
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When any American, no matter where they live or what their party,
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are denied that right because they can’t afford to wait for five or six or seven hours
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just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. (Applause.)
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So tonight, I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission
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to improve the voting experience in America.
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And it definitely needs improvement.
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I’m asking two long-time experts in the field --
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who, by the way, recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign
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and for Governor Romney’s campaign -- to lead it.
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We can fix this, and we will.
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The American people demand it, and so does our democracy. (Applause.)
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Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little
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if we don’t come together to protect our most precious resource: our children.
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It has been two months since Newtown.
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I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence.
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But this time is different.
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Overwhelming majorities of Americans
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-- Americans who believe in the Second Amendment --
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have come together around common-sense reform, like background checks
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that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. (Applause.)
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Senators - senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws
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to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals.
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Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war
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and massive ammunition magazines off our streets,
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because these police chiefs, they’re tired of seeing their guys and gals being outgunned.
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Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. (Applause.)
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Now, if you want to vote no, that’s your choice.
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But these proposals deserve a vote.
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Because in the two months since Newtown,
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more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, anniversaries
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have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun -- more than a thousand.
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One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton.
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She was 15 years old.
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She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a
majorette.
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She was so good to her friends they all thought they were her best friend.
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Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington, with her classmates,
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performing for her country at my inauguration.
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And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school,
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just a mile away from my house.
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Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight,
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along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence.
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They deserve a vote. They deserve a vote. (Applause.)
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They deserve a vote. (Applause.)
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Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. (Applause.)
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The families of Newtown deserve a vote. (Applause.)
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The families of Aurora deserve a vote. (Applause.)
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The families of Oak Creek and Tucson and Blacksburg,
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and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence –-
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they deserve a simple vote. (Applause.)
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They deserve - they deserve a simple vote.
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Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country.
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In fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrativeacts will perfectly solve
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all the challenges I’ve outlined tonight.
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But we were never sent here to be perfect.
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We were sent here to make what difference we can, to secure this nation,
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expand opportunity, uphold our ideals through the hard, often frustrating,
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but absolutely necessary work of self-government.
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We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans
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the same way they look out for one another, every single day,
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usually without fanfare, all across this country.
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We should follow their example.
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We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez.
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When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness,
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she wasn’t thinking about how her own home was faring.
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Her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care
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and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe.
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We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor.
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When Desiline arrived at her polling place,
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she was told the wait to vote might be six hours.
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And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet,
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but whether folks like her would get to have their say.
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And hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line to support her --
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because Desiline is 102 years old.
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And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read, “I voted.” (Applause.)
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We should follow the example of a police officer named Brian Murphy.
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When a gunman opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin
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Brian was the first to arrive, and he did not consider his own safety.
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He fought back until help arrived and ordered his fellow officers to protect
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the safety of the Americans worshipping inside,
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even as he lay bleeding from 12 bullet wounds.
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And when asked how he did that, Brian said, “That’s just the way we’re made.”
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That’s just the way we’re made.
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We may do different jobs and wear different uniforms,
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and hold different views than the person beside
us.
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But as Americans, we all share the same proud title -- we are citizens.
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It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status.
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It describes the way we’re made. It describes what we believe.
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It captures the enduring idea that this country only works
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when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations,
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that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others;
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and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all,
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as citizens of these United States,
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to be the authors of the next great chapter of our American story.
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Thank you. God bless you.
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And God bless these United States of America. (Applause.)