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President Obama: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress,
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and fellow Americans: Tonight we meet at an urgent time
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for our country.
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We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of
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our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that's made
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things worse.
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This past week, reporters have been asking,
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"What will this speech mean for the President?
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What will it mean for Congress?
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How will it affect their polls, and the next election?"
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But the millions of Americans who are watching right now,
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they don't care about politics.
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They have real-life concerns.
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Many have spent months looking for work.
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Others are doing their best just to scrape by -- giving up nights
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out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage;
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postponing retirement to send a kid to college.
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These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard
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work and responsibility paid off.
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They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and
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does their fair share -- where if you stepped up, did your job,
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and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded
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with a decent salary and good benefits;
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maybe a raise once in a while.
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If you did the right thing, you could make it.
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Anybody could make it in America.
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For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode.
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They have seen the decks too often stacked against them.
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And they know that Washington has not always put their
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interests first.
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The people of this country work hard
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to meet their responsibilities.
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The question tonight is whether we'll meet ours.
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The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national
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crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually
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do something to help the economy.
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(applause)
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The question -- the question is whether we can restore some
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of the fairness and security that has defined this nation
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since our beginning.
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Those of us here tonight can't solve all our nation's woes.
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Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington,
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but by our businesses and our workers.
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But we can help.
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We can make a difference.
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There are steps we can take right now to improve
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people's lives.
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I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass
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right away.
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It's called the American Jobs Act.
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There should be nothing controversial about this
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piece of legislation.
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Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been
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supported by both Democrats and Republicans -- including
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many who sit here tonight.
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And everything in this bill will be paid for.
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Everything.
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(applause)
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The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more
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people back to work and more money in the pockets of those
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who are working.
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It will create more jobs for construction workers,
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more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans,
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and more jobs for long-term unemployed.
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(applause)
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It will provide -- it will provide a tax break for
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companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in
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half for every working American and every small business.
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(applause)
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It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled,
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and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they
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hire, there will be customers for their products and services.
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You should pass this jobs plan right away.
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(applause)
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Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new
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jobs begin.
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And you know that while corporate profits have come
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roaring back, smaller companies haven't.
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So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life
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easier for "job creators," this plan is for you.
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(applause)
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Pass this jobs bill -- pass this jobs bill,
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and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut
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if they hire new workers or if they raise workers' wages.
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Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also
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see their payroll taxes cut in half next year.
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(applause)
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If you have 50 employees -- if you have 50 employees making an
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average salary, that's an $80,000 tax cut.
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And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the
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investments they make in 2012.
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It's not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal.
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Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax
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cut that's in this plan.
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You should pass it right away.
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(applause)
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Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work
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rebuilding America.
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Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges
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all over the country.
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Our highways are clogged with traffic.
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Our skies are the most congested in the world.
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It's an outrage.
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Building a world-class transportation system is
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part of what made us a economic superpower.
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And now we're going to sit back and watch China build newer
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airports and faster railroads?
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At a time when millions of unemployed construction
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workers could build them right here in America?
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(applause)
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There are private construction companies all across America
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just waiting to get to work.
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There's a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky
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that's on one of the busiest trucking routes
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in North America.
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A public transit project in Houston that will help clear
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up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country.
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And there are schools throughout this country that desperately
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need renovating.
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How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that
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are literally falling apart?
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This is America.
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Every child deserves a great school -- and we can give it
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to them, if we act now.
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(applause)
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The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least
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35,000 schools.
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It will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows,
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installing science labs and high-speed Internet
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in classrooms all across this country.
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It will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit
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hardest by foreclosures.
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It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects
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all across the country.
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And to make sure the money is properly spent,
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we're building on reforms we've already put in place.
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No more earmarks.
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No more boondoggles.
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No more bridges to nowhere.
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We're cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects
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from getting started as quickly as possible.
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And we'll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars
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and issue loans based on two criteria: how badly a
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construction project is needed and how much good it will do
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for the economy.
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(applause)
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This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican
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and a Massachusetts Democrat.
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The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by
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America's largest business organization and America's
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largest labor organization.
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It's the kind of proposal that's been supported in the past by
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Democrats and Republicans alike.
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You should pass it right away.
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(applause)
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Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in
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every state will go back to work.
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These are the men and women charged with preparing our
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children for a world where the competition has never
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been tougher.
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But while they're adding teachers in places like South
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Korea, we're laying them off in droves.
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It's unfair to our kids.
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It undermines their future and ours.
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And it has to stop.
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Pass this bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom
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where they belong.
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(applause)
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Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax
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credits if they hire America's veterans.
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We ask these men and women to leave their careers,
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leave their families, risk their lives to fight for our country.
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The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when
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they come home.
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(applause)
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Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young
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people will have the hope and the dignity of a summer
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job next year.
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And their parents --
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(applause)
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-- their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want
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to work, will have more ladders out of poverty.
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Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000
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tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more
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than six months looking for a job.
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(applause)
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We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their
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search for work.
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This jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several
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Republican leaders have highlighted,
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where people who collect unemployment insurance
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participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills
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while they look for a permanent job.
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The plan also extends unemployment insurance
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for another year.
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(applause)
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If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this
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insurance, and stopped using that money for basic
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necessities, it would be a devastating blow
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to this economy.
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Democrats and Republicans in this chamber have supported
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unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past.
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And in this time of prolonged hardship,
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you should pass it again -- right away.
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(applause)
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Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will
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get a $1,500 tax cut next year.
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Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of
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your pocket will go into your pocket.
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This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans
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already passed for this year.
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If we allow that tax cut to expire -- if we refuse to act --
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middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the
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worst possible time.
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We can't let that happen.
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I know that some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any
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taxes on anyone for as long as you live.
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Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise
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middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this
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bill right away.
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(applause)
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This is the American Jobs Act.
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It will lead to new jobs for construction workers,
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for teachers, for veterans, for first responders,
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young people and the long-term unemployed.
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It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers,
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tax relief to small business owners,
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and tax cuts for the middle class.
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And here's the other thing I want the American people to
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know: The American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit.
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It will be paid for.
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And here's how.
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(applause)
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The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by
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about $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
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It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional
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$1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas.
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Tonight, I am asking you to increase that amount so that
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it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act.
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And a week from Monday, I'll be releasing a more ambitious
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deficit plan -- a plan that will not only cover the cost of this
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jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run.
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(applause)
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This approach is basically the one I've been advocating
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for months.
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In addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I've
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already signed into law, it's a balanced plan that would reduce
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the deficit by making additional spending cuts,
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by making modest adjustments to health care programs like
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Medicare and Medicaid, and by reforming our tax code in a way
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that asks the wealthiest Americans and biggest
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corporations to pay their fair share.
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(applause)
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What's more, the spending cuts wouldn't happen so abruptly that
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they'd be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small
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businesses and middle-class families get back on their
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feet right away.
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Now, I realize there are some in my party who don't think we
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should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid,
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and I understand their concerns.
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But here's the truth: Millions of Americans rely on Medicare
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in their retirement.
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And millions more will do so in the future.
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They pay for this benefit during their working years.
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They earn it.
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But with an aging population and rising health care costs,
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we are spending too fast to sustain the program.
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And if we don't gradually reform the system while protecting
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current beneficiaries, it won't be there when future
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retirees need it.
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We have to reform Medicare to strengthen it.
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(applause)
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I am also -- I'm also well aware that there are many Republicans
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who don't believe we should raise taxes on those who are
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most fortunate and can best afford it.
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But here is what every American knows: While most people in this
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country struggle to make ends meet,
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a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable
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corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that
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nobody else gets.
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Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than
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his secretary -- an outrage he has asked us to fix.
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(laughter)
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We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake
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and where everybody pays their fair share.
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(applause)
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And by the way, I believe the vast majority of wealthy
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Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that if it helps the
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economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.
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I'll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code
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that stands as a monument to special interest
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influence in Washington.
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By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions,
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we can lower one of the highest corporate tax
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rates in the world.
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(applause)
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Our tax code should not give an advantage to companies
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that can afford the best-connected lobbyists.
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It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create
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jobs right here in the United States of America.
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(applause)
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So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt,
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and pay for this jobs plan in the process.
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But in order to do this, we have to decide what
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our priorities are.
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We have to ask ourselves, "What's the best way to grow
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the economy and create jobs?"
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Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies?
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Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax
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credit when they hire new workers?
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Because we can't afford to do both.
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Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?
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Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate
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ready for college and good jobs?
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(applause)
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Right now, we can't afford to do both.
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This isn't political grandstanding.
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This isn't class warfare.
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This is simple math.
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(laughter)
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This is simple math.
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These are real choices.
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These are real choices that we've got to make.
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And I'm pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose.
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It's not even close.
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And it's time for us to do what's right for our future.
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(applause)
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Now, the American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to
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create jobs right away.
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But we can't stop there.
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As I've argued since I ran for this office,
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we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start
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building an economy that lasts into the future --
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an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that pay well
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and offer security.
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We now live in a world where technology has made it possible
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for companies to take their business anywhere.
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If we want them to start here and stay here and hire here,
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we have to be able to out-build and out-educate and out-innovate
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every other country on Earth.
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(applause)
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And this task of making America more competitive for the long
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haul, that's a job for all of us.
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For government and for private companies.
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For states and for local communities -- and for
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every American citizen.
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All of us will have to up our game.
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All of us will have to change the way we do business.
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My administration can and will take some steps to improve our
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competitiveness on our own.
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For example, if you're a small business owner who has a
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contract with the federal government,
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we're going to make sure you get paid a lot faster
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than you do right now.
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(applause)
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We're also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too
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many rapidly growing startup companies from raising capital
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and going public.
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And to help responsible homeowners,
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we're going to work with federal housing agencies to help more
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people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now
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near 4 percent.
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That's a step --
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(applause)
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-- I know you guys must be for this,
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because that's a step that can put more than $2,000
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a year in a family's pocket, and give a lift to an economy
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still burdened by the drop in housing prices.
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So, some things we can do on our own.
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Other steps will require congressional action.
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Today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated
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patent process, so that entrepreneurs can turn a new
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idea into a new business as quickly as possible.
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That's the kind of action we need.
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Now it's time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements
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that would make it easier for American companies to sell their
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products in Panama and Colombia and South Korea -- while also
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helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by
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global competition.
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(applause)
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If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais,
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I want to see folks in South Korea driving Fords and Chevys
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and Chryslers.
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(applause)
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I want to see more products sold around the world stamped with
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the three proud words: "Made in America."
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That's what we need to get done.
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(applause)
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And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness,
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we need to look for ways to work side by side with
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America's businesses.
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That's why I've brought together a Jobs Council of leaders from
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different industries who are developing a wide range of new
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ideas to help companies grow and create jobs.
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Already, we've mobilized business leaders to train
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10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company
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internships and training.
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Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn
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new skills at community colleges.
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And we're going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing
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takes root not in China or Europe, but right here,
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in the United States of America.
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(applause)
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If we provide the right incentives,
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the right support -- and if we make sure our trading partners
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play by the rules -- we can be the ones to build everything
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from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to
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semiconductors that we sell all around the world.
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That's how America can be number one again.
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And that's how America will be number one again.
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(applause)
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Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how
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to grow the economy.
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Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our
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economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and
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eliminate most government regulations.
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(applause)
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Well, I agree that we can't afford wasteful spending,
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and I'll work with you, with Congress, to root it out.
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And I agree that there are some rules and regulations that do
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put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they
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can least afford it.
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(applause)
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That's why I ordered a review of all government regulations.
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So far, we've identified over 500 reforms,
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which will save billions of dollars over the next few years.
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(applause)
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We should have no more regulation than the health,
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safety and security of the American people require.
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Every rule should meet that common-sense test.
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(applause)
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But what we can't do -- what I will not do -- is let this
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economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic
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protections that Americans have counted on for decades.
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(applause)
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I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between
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their jobs and their safety.
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I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow,
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we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit
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card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed
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to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry
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from shortchanging patients.
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I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective
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bargaining rights to compete in a global economy.
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(applause)
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We shouldn't be in a race to the bottom,
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where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst
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pollution standards.
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America should be in a race to the top.
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And I believe we can win that race.
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(applause)
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In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can
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do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government,
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refund everybody's money, and let everyone write their own
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rules, and tell everyone they're on their own --
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that's not who we are.
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That's not the story of America.
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Yes, we are rugged individualists.
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Yes, we are strong and self-reliant.
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And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and
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entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and the envy
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of the world.
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But there's always been another thread running throughout our
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history -- a belief that we're all connected,
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and that there are some things we can only do together,
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as a nation.
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We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who
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saved our Union.
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Founder of the Republican Party.
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But in the middle of a civil war,
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he was also a leader who looked to the future -- a Republican
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President who mobilized government to build the
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Transcontinental Railroad --
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(applause)
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-- launch the National Academy of Sciences,
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set up the first land grant colleges.
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(applause)
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And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.
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Ask yourselves -- where would we be right now if the people who
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sat here before us decided not to build our highways,
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not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports?
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What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend
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money on public high schools, or research universities,
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or community colleges?
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Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather,
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had the opportunity to go to school because of the G.I. Bill.
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Where would we be if they hadn't had that chance?
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(applause)
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How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided
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not to support the basic research that led to the
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Internet and the computer chip?
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What kind of country would this be if this chamber had voted
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down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some
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rigid idea about what government could or could not do?
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(applause)
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How many Americans would have suffered as a result?
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No single individual built America on their own.
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We built it together.
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We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God,
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indivisible, with liberty and justice for all;
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a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with
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responsibilities to one another.
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And members of Congress, it is time for us to meet
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our responsibilities.
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(applause)
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Every proposal I've laid out tonight is the kind that's
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been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past.
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Every proposal I've laid out tonight will be paid for.
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And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our
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people and our communities.
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Now, I know there's been a lot of skepticism about whether the
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politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs
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plan -- or any jobs plan.
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Already, we're seeing the same old press releases and tweets
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flying back and forth.
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Already, the media has proclaimed that it's impossible
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to bridge our differences.
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And maybe some of you have decided that those differences
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are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box.
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But know this: The next election is 14 months away.
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And the people who sent us here -- the people who hired us to
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work for them -- they don't have the luxury of waiting 14 months.
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(applause)
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Some of them are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck,
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even day to day.
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They need help, and they need it now.
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I don't pretend that this plan will solve all our problems.
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It should not be, nor will it be,
-
the last plan of action we propose.
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What's guided us from the start of this crisis hasn't been the
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search for a silver bullet.
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It's been a commitment to stay at it -- to be persistent --
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to keep trying every new idea that works,
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and listen to every good proposal,
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no matter which party comes up with it.
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Regardless of the arguments we've had in the past,
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regardless of the arguments we will have in the future,
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this plan is the right thing to do right now.
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You should pass it.
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And I intend to take that message to every corner
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of this country.
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(applause)
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And I ask -- I ask every American who agrees to lift
-
your voice: Tell the people who are gathered here tonight that
-
you want action now.
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Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option.
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Remind us that if we act as one nation and one people,
-
we have it within our power to meet this challenge.
-
President Kennedy once said, "Our problems are man-made --
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therefore they can be solved by man.
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And man can be as big as he wants."
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These are difficult years for our country.
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But we are Americans.
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We are tougher than the times we live in,
-
and we are bigger than our politics have been.
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So let's meet the moment.
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Let's get to work, and let's show the world once again why
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the United States of America remains the
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greatest nation on Earth.
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(applause)
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Thank you very much.
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God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
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(applause)