Washington:
President Barack Obama today addressed the Americans in a farewell State of the Union address designed to draw sharp contrast with Republicans.
Here are the highlights- Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans. Tonight marks the eighth year I've come here to report on the State of the Union.
- I hope we can work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform
- Tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead
- Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work. Paid leave. Raising the minimum wage are the issues I will keep fighting for.
- We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the 'dogmas of the quiet past.' Instead we thought anew, and acted anew
- It's in that spirit that we have made the progress of these past 7 years
- We secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love
- Such progress is not inevitable. It's the result of choices we make, together. And we face such choices right now
- Let's talk about the future and four big questions that we as a country have to answer
- First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy?
- Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us - especially when it comes to...challenges like climate change?
- Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?
- Finally, how can we make our politics reflect what's best in us, and not what's worst?
- The United States of America, right now, has the strongest, most stable economy in the world
- We're in the middle of the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history
- More than 14 million new jobs; an unemployment rate cut in half
- We've done all this "while cutting our deficits by three-fourths."
- For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that works better for everybody
- Real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job
- We've increased early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs
- We have to make college affordable for every American
- We've already reduced student loan payments to 10% of a graduate's income
- Social Security and Medicare are more important than ever; we shouldn't weaken them, we should strengthen them
- On the Affordable Care Act: Nearly 18 million people have gained coverage so far
- I'd welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers
- Working families won't get more opportunity...just by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds" do whatever they want
- Food Stamp recipients didn't cause the financial crisis. Recklessness on Wall Street did
- 60 years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn't deny Sputnik was up there. We didn't argue about the science
- We built a space program almost overnight, and 12 years later, we were walking on the moon
- America is Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver
- We've protected an open Internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income Americans online
- Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer
- Tonight, I'm announcing a new national effort to get it done...I'm putting Joe in charge of Mission Control
- For the loved ones we've all lost...let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all
- If anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You'll be pretty lonely
- Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history
- In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power
- On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills
- Solar...employs more Americans than coal, in jobs that pay better than average
- We've cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly 60%'
- We've cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth
- We've got to accelerate our transition away from dirty energy
- The planet we'll preserve-that's the kid of future our kids and grand kids deserve
- The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It's not even close
- Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world
- When it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead-they call us
- Priority number one is protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks
- We just need to call them (ISIS) what they are-killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed
- Authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Take a vote
- If you doubt America's commitment-or mine-to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin Laden
- When you come after Americans, we go after you. It may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limit
- We also can't take over & try to rebuild every country in crisis
- On issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and pull their own weight
- Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile & the world has avoided...war
- We stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa
- You want to show our strength in this century? Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it
- On Cuba: Fifty years of failed policy in Cuba had failed to promote democracy
- Recognize that the Cold War is over. Lift the embargo
- We lead nearly 200 countries to the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change-that helps vulnerable countries
- I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo
- We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion
- To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the way we take their place
- When politicians insult Muslims, or a mosque is vandalized...that's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong
- When politicians insult Muslims, or a mosque is vandalized...that's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong
- A better politics doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. This is a big country - different regions, different attitudes
- It doesn't work if we think the people who disagree with us are motivated by malice
- It's one of the few regrets of my presidency-that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better
- A whole lot of folks in this chamber...would like to see more cooperation...but feel trapped by the imperatives of getting elected
- If we want a better politics, it's not enough just to change...a Senator or even change a President; we have to change the system
- Democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter
- We have to end the practice of drawing...congressional districts so...politicians can pick their voters & not the other way around
- We've got to make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now
- It's easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn't possible, and that politics is hopeless
- If we give up now, then we forsake our future to other, louder voices that fill the void
- Whether you prefer one party or no party...our collective futures depend on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen
- Each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us
- I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I'll be right there with you as a citizen
- I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people
- That's why I stand here confident that the State of our Union is strong
- 'Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America