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Obama to Push Split Congress to Act on Guns and Economy Obama Focuses on Building ‘Thriving Middle Class’ With Government Help
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Obama will challenge a divided Congress on Tuesday night to embrace a second-term agenda that includes new government investments, limits on guns, a revamped immigration system and a plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, White House officials said. WASHINGON — President Obama called Tuesday for a sustained effort to revive a “rising, thriving middle class,” pledging to fight for a higher minimum wage, more government investment in schools and clean energy, and deficit reduction achieved through spending cuts and tax increases.
Mr. Obama’s first State of the Union address since winning re-election will focus on new initiatives to kick-start the economy for middle-class Americans, aides said. The president will propose government action in education, manufacturing, infrastructure and clean energy. In his first State of the Union address since winning re-election, Mr. Obama offered an expansive second-term agenda focused heavily on the economy and jobs, according to summaries of his proposals provided to reporters in advance of the speech. He also proposed new reductions in nuclear weapons, announced that the United States would enter into negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union, and promised a speedy withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
“It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few,” Mr. Obama will say, according to brief excerpts that the White House released Tuesday evening. “That it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation of ours.” “It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many and not just the few,” Mr. Obama said, according to a copy of his remarks released ahead of the speech. “That it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation of ours.”
But administration officials said the president also will announce that 34,000 troops will return home from Afghanistan by February 2014, cutting in half the American presence there before continuing further troop withdrawals and handing over complete responsibility for security to the Afghans by the end of next year. After delivering an assertive defense of liberal values in his second Inaugural Address last month, on Tuesday, Mr. Obama detailed his vision for how to achieve those goals through a federal government that is actively engaged in the well-being of all Americans.
And after North Korea conducted a third nuclear test in defiance of international pressure, Mr. Obama plans to renew his pledge to reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal by promising to shrink the number of nuclear weapons that the United States has already deployed. He credited the “grit and determination” of the American people for helping turn the economy around, saying that “we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger.”
The president is also expected to announce his intention to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with the 27-member European Union. The president argued for aggressive federal efforts to lift as many as 15 million people out of poverty by raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25 an hour by the end of 2015. He also pushed for new investments in preschool programs as well as math and science education and community colleges to equip workers with new skills.
Mr. Obama’s speech — his seventh to a joint session of Congress — is designed to set in motion one of the most intensive legislative years in his presidency as the White House moves to take advantage of his victory in the fall. Aides are keenly aware that the momentum will soon fade. “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty,” Mr. Obama said. “This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank, rent or eviction, scraping by or finally getting ahead.”
“He does feel that fierce urgency,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program on Tuesday. She said Mr. Obama will use the State of the Union address to put pressure on members of Congress by speaking “directly to the American people about what he wants to do.” Despite raising the hopes of environmental activists in his Inaugural Address by calling for a robust effort to fight climate change, Mr. Obama did not call for a cap on carbon emissions on Tuesday. Instead, he pledged to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles, double the use of renewable electricity generation and create a new energy security trust that would use oil and gas revenue from federal lands to finance clean energy research.
Mr. Obama already faces stiff opposition from Republicans who control the House and have repeatedly blocked some of his top priorities. On Tuesday, Republicans began using the Twitter hashtag #notserious to describe Mr. Obama’s expected speech. And the Republican party unveiled a new Web site to respond to the president’s speech in real time. Immigration advocates had similar expectations about plans to overhaul the immigration system. Mr. Obama has said he favors changes that would eventually allow 11 million illegal immigrants to earn a path to citizenship, which he mentioned in the speech.
Republicans said they will be listening carefully for what the president says about the looming fight over taxes and spending. Mr. Obama has insisted that efforts to reduce the deficit must include a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. The president also urged Congress to approve a $50 billion “Fix It First” program of infrastructure improvements intended to repair and rebuild the roads, bridges and rail lines that are in the worst shape.
“He needs to understand that the American people will not accept attempts to replace deficit reduction both parties have already agreed to with tax hikes — tax hikes that we all know Democrats would use to finance even more spending,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. “If the president does try to do that, then he shouldn’t expect anyone else to go along.” Mr. Obama, mindful of the debate over government spending, acknowledged that his agenda would cost money, but he said his proposals would not increase the deficit by “one single dime” because the federal budget would remain below caps that both parties agreed to during negotiations in 2011.
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will give the Republican response immediately after Mr. Obama’s speech, which begins at 9.p.m. Eastern time. Mr. Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba, will deliver his short address in both English and Spanish. In excerpts released Tuesday evening, Mr. Rubio accuses the president of thinking that free enterprise is “the cause of our problems.” “It’s not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth,” Mr. Obama said.
“The tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle class families,” Mr. Rubio will say, according to the excerpts. “It will cost them their raises. It will cost them their benefits. It may even cost some of them their jobs. And it will hurt seniors because it does nothing to save Medicare and Social Security. So, Mr. President, I don’t oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich. I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors.” The president said he remained committed to reducing the budget deficit, but warned Republicans that he would support only what he called “balanced” efforts that included both spending cuts and tax increases, including the closing of tax loopholes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations.
The president will deliver his speech, carried live to millions of viewers, before a chamber that will include victims of gun violence, part of an effort by gun control advocates to increase pressure on Congress to enact enhanced background checks and new restrictions on firearms and ammunition. He made it clear that he believed that Washington had already reduced the deficit by $2.5 trillion over a decade, using a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. That is more than halfway toward the $4 trillion goal that he and some Republicans have set. He urged lawmakers to put off the automatic cuts to military and domestic spending to avoid a new economic slump.
Sitting with Michelle Obama in the first lady’s box will be the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, the young girl who was shot and killed in Chicago just days after performing at Mr. Obama’s inauguration ceremony. Aides said others sitting with Ms. Obama will include a teacher from the Newtown, Conn., school massacre; small-business owners; members of the military; Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple; and immigration advocates. Mr. Obama faces stiff opposition from the Republicans who control the House and who have repeatedly blocked some of his top legislative priorities. Republicans began using the Twitter hashtag #NotSerious on Tuesday to describe what they expected Mr. Obama to say in his speech. And the Republican Party unveiled a new Web site to respond to the president’s speech as he gave it.
Gun control advocates are expecting Mr. Obama to make a strong push for his comprehensive package of legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown shootings in December. Aides have said he will urge Congress to act quickly. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is scheduled to give the Republican response immediately after Mr. Obama’s speech, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Mr. Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba, is to deliver his short address in both English and Spanish. In excerpts released Tuesday evening, Mr. Rubio accused the president of thinking that free enterprise is “the cause of our problems.”
Immigration advocates have similar expectations for the president’s message on an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system. Mr. Obama has said he favors changes that would eventually allow 11 million illegal immigrants to earn a path to citizenship, something he is likely to mention in the speech. “The tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle-class families,” Mr. Rubio will say, according to the excerpts. “It will cost them their raises. It will cost them their benefits. It may even cost some of them their jobs. And it will hurt seniors because it does nothing to save Medicare and Social Security. So Mr. President, I don’t oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich. I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors.”
But North Korea’s nuclear test early Tuesday highlighted how national security and foreign policy matters may affect the course of Mr. Obama’s presidency over the next four years. Mr. Obama’s speech — his seventh to a joint session of Congress — was designed to set in motion one of the most intene legislative years in his presidency, with the White House moving to take advantage of his victory last fall. Aides are keenly aware that the momentum will soon fade.
Aides said Mr. Obama was already planning to mention North Korea security concerns in the speech before the nuclear test. But officials said Mr. Obama plans to insert a line about what he called a “provocative” act by the North Koreans. “He does feel that fierce urgency,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, said on the MSNBC program “Morning Joe” on Tuesday. She said Mr. Obama would use the State of the Union address to put pressure on members of Congress by speaking “directly to the American people about what he wants to do.”
And the president’s decision to announce a withdrawal of nearly half the troops in Afghanistan reflects a continuing desire by Mr. Obama to wind down that costly war. The president delivered his address before a chamber that included victims of gun violence, which is part of an effort by gun control advocates to increase pressure on Congress to enact enhanced background checks and new restrictions on firearms and ammunition.
“President Obama will announce that 34,000 U.S. troops will return home from Afghanistan by this time next year, decreasing by half the number of U.S. forces serving in Afghanistan,” a senior administration official said Tuesday. “Further reductions will continue through the end of 2014 as Afghans take full responsibility for their security.” Sitting with Michelle Obama in the first lady’s box were the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, the girl who was shot to death in Chicago just days after performing at Mr. Obama’s inauguration. Aides said a teacher from the Newtown, Conn., school where a massacre occurred in December; small-business owners; members of the military; Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive of Apple; and immigration advocates would be among those sitting with Mrs. Obama.
In his speech, Mr. Obama made a strong push for his comprehensive package of legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown shootings.
He repeatedly said that whatever members of Congress might think about new gun laws, they should allow their colleagues to vote on the often divisive issue.
“Gabby Giffords deserves a vote,” Mr. Obama said, referring to Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman who was shot and gravely injured in a 2011 shooting in Tucson. “The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek and Tucson and Blacksburg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence — they deserve a simple vote.”
Domestic affairs dominated the speech. But North Korea’s nuclear test early Tuesday highlighted how national security and foreign policy matters may affect the course of Mr. Obama’s presidency.
Aides said the president had planned to mention security concerns about North Korea security concerns even before the nuclear test. But Mr. Obama specifically mentioned the nuclear test, calling it a provocative act that would be condemned by the world.
“Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense, and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Obama renewed his pledge to reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal by promising to shrink the number of nuclear weapons that the United States has deployed.
And he announced that 34,000 troops will return home from Afghanistan by February 2014, cutting in half the American presence there before continuing further troop withdrawals and handing over complete responsibility for security to the Afghans by the end of next year.
In the wake of tough questions for John Brennan, Mr. Obama’s nominee to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the president said he would work with Congress to ensure more transparency about how terrorists — including Americans — are targeted overseas.
“I will continue to engage with Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention, and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent to the American people and to the world,” Mr. Obama said.