[House Document 114-84]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




114th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 114-84
 
        PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BEFORE A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                     THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS BEFORE A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON THE STATE 
                              OF THE UNION

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


  January 13, 2016.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
 Committee on the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to 
                               be printed
                               
                                    ______

                         U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

59-011                         WASHINGTON : 2016                               
                               
                               
                               
                               
                               
                               
                               
                               
To the Congress of the United States:
    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. And for this final one, I'm going to 
try to make it shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get 
back to Iowa.
    I also understand that because it's an election season, 
expectations for what we'll achieve this year are low. Still, 
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach you and the 
other leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and 
make tax cuts permanent for working families. So I hope we can 
work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal 
justice reform, and helping people who are battling 
prescription drug abuse. We just might surprise the cynics 
again.
    But tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of 
proposals for the year ahead. Don't worry, I've got plenty, 
from helping students learn to write computer code to 
personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I'll keep 
pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing. Fixing 
a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun 
violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the 
minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking 
families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not 
let up until they get done.
    But for my final address to this chamber, I don't want to 
talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the next five 
years, ten years, and beyond.
    I want to focus on our future.
    We live in a time of extraordinary change--change that's 
reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our 
place in the world. It's change that promises amazing medical 
breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain 
working families. It promises education for girls in the most 
remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean 
away. It's change that can broaden opportunity, or widen 
inequality. And whether we like it or not, the pace of this 
change will only accelerate.
    America has been through big changes before--wars and 
depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a 
fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. Each time, 
there have been those who told us to fear the future; who 
claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to 
restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was 
threatening America under control. And each time, we overcame 
those fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the 
``dogmas of the quiet past.'' Instead we thought anew, and 
acted anew. We made change work for us, always extending 
America's promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and 
more people. And because we did--because we saw opportunity 
where others saw only peril--we emerged stronger and better 
than before.
    What was true then can be true now. Our unique strengths as 
a nation--our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery 
and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the rule of 
law--these things give us everything we need to ensure 
prosperity and security for generations to come.
    In fact, it's that spirit that made the progress of these 
past seven years possible. It's how we recovered from the worst 
economic crisis in generations. It's how we reformed our health 
care system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered 
more care and benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we 
secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love.
    But such progress is not inevitable. It is the result of 
choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. 
Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning 
inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? 
Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what 
we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?
    So let's talk about the future, and four big questions that 
we as a country have to answer--regardless of who the next 
President is, or who controls the next Congress.
    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 solving urgent 
challenges like climate change?
    Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world 
without becoming its policeman?
    And finally, how can we make our politics reflect what's 
best in us, and not what's worst?
    Let me start with the economy, and a basic fact: the United 
States of America, right now, has the strongest, most durable 
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; the strongest two years of job growth since the `90s; 
an unemployment rate cut in half. Our auto industry just had 
its best year ever. Manufacturing has created nearly 900,000 
new jobs in the past six years. And we've done all this while 
cutting our deficits by almost three-quarters.
    Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is 
peddling fiction. What is true--and the reason that a lot of 
Americans feel anxious--is that the economy has been changing 
in profound ways, changes that started long before the Great 
Recession hit and haven't let up. Today, technology doesn't 
just replace jobs on the assembly line, but any job where work 
can be automated. Companies in a global economy can locate 
anywhere, and face tougher competition. As a result, workers 
have less leverage for a raise. Companies have less loyalty to 
their communities. And more and more wealth and income is 
concentrated at the very top.
    All these trends have squeezed workers, even when they have 
jobs; even when the economy is growing. It's made it harder for 
a hardworking family to pull itself out of poverty, harder for 
young people to start on their careers, and tougher for workers 
to retire when they want to. And although none of these trends 
are unique to America, they do offend our uniquely American 
belief that everybody who works hard should get a fair shot.
    For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing 
economy that works better for everybody. We've made progress. 
But we need to make more. And despite all the political 
arguments we've had these past few years, there are some areas 
where Americans broadly agree.
    We agree that real opportunity requires every American to 
get the education and training they need to land a good-paying 
job. The bipartisan reform of No Child Left Behind was an 
important start, and together, we've increased early childhood 
education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, 
and boosted graduates in fields like engineering. In the coming 
years, we should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for 
all, offering every student the hands-on computer science and 
math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and we should 
recruit and support more great teachers for our kids.
    And we have to make college affordable for every American. 
Because no hardworking student should be stuck in the red. 
We've already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of a 
borrower's income. Now, we've actually got to cut the cost of 
college. Providing two years of community college at no cost 
for every responsible student is one of the best ways to do 
that, and I'm going to keep fighting to get that started this 
year.
    Of course, a great education isn't all we need in this new 
economy. We also need benefits and protections that provide a 
basic measure of security. After all, it's not much of a 
stretch to say that some of the only people in America who are 
going to work the same job, in the same place, with a health 
and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in this 
chamber. For everyone else, especially folks in their forties 
and fifties, saving for retirement or bouncing back from job 
loss has gotten a lot tougher. Americans understand that at 
some point in their careers, they may have to retool and 
retrain. But they shouldn't lose what they've already worked so 
hard to build.
    That's why Social Security and Medicare are more important 
than ever; we shouldn't weaken them, we should strengthen them. 
And for Americans short of retirement, basic benefits should be 
just as mobile as everything else is today. That's what the 
Affordable Care Act is all about. It's about filling the gaps 
in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back 
to school, or start that new business, we'll still have 
coverage. Nearly eighteen million have gained coverage so far. 
Health care inflation has slowed. And our businesses have 
created jobs every single month since it became law.
    Now, I'm guessing we won't agree on health care anytime 
soon. But there should be other ways both parties can improve 
economic security. Say a hardworking American loses his job--we 
shouldn't just make sure he can get unemployment insurance; we 
should make sure that program encourages him to retrain for a 
business that's ready to hire him. If that new job doesn't pay 
as much, there should be a system of wage insurance in place so 
that he can still pay his bills. And even if he's going from 
job to job, he should still be able to save for retirement and 
take his savings with him. That's the way we make the new 
economy work better for everyone.
    I also know Speaker Ryan has talked about his interest in 
tackling poverty. America is about giving everybody willing to 
work a hand up, and I'd welcome a serious discussion about 
strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-
income workers without kids.
    But there are other areas where it's been more difficult to 
find agreement over the last seven years--namely what role the 
government should play in making sure the system's not rigged 
in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. And here, 
the American people have a choice to make.
    I believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our 
economy. I think there are outdated regulations that need to be 
changed, and there's red tape that needs to be cut. But after 
years of record corporate profits, working families won't get 
more opportunity or bigger paychecks by letting big banks or 
big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at the expense of 
everyone else; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining 
to go unanswered. Food Stamp recipients didn't cause the 
financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did. Immigrants 
aren't the reason wages haven't gone up enough; those decisions 
are made in the boardrooms that too often put quarterly 
earnings over long-term returns. It's sure not the average 
family watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through 
offshore accounts. In this new economy, workers and start-ups 
and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules 
should work for them. And this year I plan to lift up the many 
businesses who've figured out that doing right by their workers 
ends up being good for their shareholders, their customers, and 
their communities, so that we can spread those best practices 
across America.
    In fact, many of our best corporate citizens are also our 
most creative. This brings me to the second big question we 
have to answer as a country: how do we reignite that spirit of 
innovation to meet our biggest challenges?
    Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we 
didn't deny Sputnik was up there. We didn't argue about the 
science, or shrink our research and development budget. We 
built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, 
we were walking on the moon.
    That spirit of discovery is in our DNA. We're Thomas Edison 
and the Wright Brothers and.George Washington Carver. We're 
Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. We're every 
immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon 
Valley racing to shape a better world. And over the past seven 
years, we've nurtured that spirit.
    We've protected an open internet, and taken bold new steps 
to get more students and low-income Americans online. We've 
launched next-generation manufacturing hubs, and online tools 
that give an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a 
business in a single day.
    But we can do so much more. Last year, Vice President Biden 
said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer. Last 
month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the 
National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they've 
had in over a decade. Tonight, I'm announcing a new national 
effort to get it done. And because he's gone to the mat for all 
of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I'm putting 
Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we've all 
lost, for the family we can still save, let's make America the 
country that cures cancer once and for all.
    Medical research is critical. We need the same level of 
commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources.
    Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around 
climate change, have at it. You'll be pretty lonely, because 
you'll be debating our military, most of America's business 
leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire 
scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who 
agree it's a problem and intend to solve it.
    But even if the planet wasn't at stake; even if 2014 wasn't 
the warmest year on record--until 2015 turned out even hotter--
why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses 
to produce and sell the energy of the future?
    Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in 
clean energy in our history. Here are the results. 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, and employs more Americans than coal--in jobs 
that pay better than average. We're taking steps to give 
homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy--
something environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to 
support. Meanwhile, we've cut our imports of foreign oil by 
nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any 
other country on Earth.
    Gas under two bucks a gallon ain't bad, either.
    Now we've got to accelerate the transition away from dirty 
energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the 
future--especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. 
That's why I'm going to push to change the way we manage our 
oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs 
they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put money 
back into those communities and put tens of thousands of 
Americans to work building a 21st century transportation 
system.
    None of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are 
plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status 
quo. But the jobs we'll create, the money we'll save, and the 
planet we'll preserve--that's the kind of future our kids and 
grandkids deserve.
    Climate change is just one of many issues where our 
security is linked to the rest of the world. And that's why the 
third big question we have to answer is how to keep America 
safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to 
nation-build everywhere there's a problem.
    I told you earlier all the talk of America's economic 
decline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric you 
hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting 
weaker. The United States of America is the most powerful 
nation on Earth. Period. It's not even close. We spend more on 
our military than the next eight nations combined. Our troops 
are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. No 
nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know 
that's the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the 
world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and 
when it comes to every important international issue, people of 
the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead--they call 
us.
    As someone who begins every day with an intelligence 
briefing, I know this is a dangerous time. But that's not 
because of diminished American strength or some looming 
superpower. In today's world, we're threatened less by evil 
empires and more by failing states. The Middle East is going 
through a transformation that will play out for a generation, 
rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. Economic 
headwinds blow from a Chinese economy in transition. Even as 
their economy contracts, Russia is pouring resources to prop up 
Ukraine and Syria--states they see slipping away from their 
orbit. And the international system we built after World War II 
is now struggling to keep pace with this new reality.
    It's up to us to help remake that system. And that means we 
have to set priorities.
    Priority number one is protecting the American people and 
going after terrorist networks. Both al Qaeda and now ISIL pose 
a direct threat to our people, because in today's world, even a 
handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, 
including their own, can do a lot of damage. They use the 
Internet to poison the minds of individuals inside our country; 
they undermine our allies.
    But as we focus on destroying ISIL, over-the-top claims 
that this is World War III just play into their hands. Masses 
of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls 
plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to 
civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our 
national existence. That's the story ISIL wants to tell; that's 
the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don't need to 
build them up to show that we're serious, nor do we need to 
push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that 
ISIL is representative of one of the world's largest religions. 
We just need to call them what they are--killers and fanatics 
who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed.
    That's exactly what we are doing. For more than a year, 
America has led a coalition of more than 60 countries to cut 
off ISIL's financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of 
terrorist fighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. With 
nearly 10,000 air strikes, we are taking out their leadership, 
their oil, their training camps, and their weapons. We are 
training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily 
reclaiming territory in Iraq and Syria.
    If this Congress is serious about winning this war, and 
wants to send a message to our troops and the world, you should 
finally authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Take 
a vote. But the American people should know that with or 
without Congressional action, ISIL will learn the same lessons 
as terrorists before them. If you doubt America's commitment--
or mine--to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin Laden. Ask 
the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who was taken out last year, 
or the perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a 
prison cell. When you come after Americans, we go after you. It 
may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no 
limit.
    Our foreign policy must be focused on the threat from ISIL 
and al Qaeda, but it can't stop there. For even without ISIL, 
instability will continue for decades in many parts of the 
world--in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in 
parts of Central America, Africa and Asia. Some of these places 
may become safe havens for new terrorist networks; others will 
fall victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next 
wave of refugees. The world will look to us to help solve these 
problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or 
calls to carpet bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound 
bite, but it doesn't pass muster on the world stage.
    We also can't try to take over and rebuild every country 
that falls into crisis. That's not leadership; that's a recipe 
for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that 
ultimately weakens us. It's the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq--and 
we should have learned it by now.
    Fortunately, there's a smarter approach, a patient and 
disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national 
power. It says America will always act, alone if necessary, to 
protect our people and our allies; but on issues of global 
concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and make 
sure other countries pull their own weight.
    That's our approach to conflicts like Syria, where we're 
partnering with local forces and leading international efforts 
to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace.
    That's why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and 
principled diplomacy, to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. As we 
speak, Iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out 
its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war.
    That's how we stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa. 
Our military, our doctors, and our development workers set up 
the platform that allowed other countries to join us in 
stamping out that epidemic.
    That's how we forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open 
markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance 
American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes on products 
Made in America, and supports more good jobs. With TPP, China 
doesn't set the rules in that region, we do. You want to show 
our strength in this century? Approve this agreement. Give us 
the tools to enforce it.
    Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote 
democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That's why we 
restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and 
commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the 
Cuban people. You want to consolidate our leadership and 
credibility in the hemisphere? Recognize that the Cold War is 
over. Lift the embargo.
    American leadership in the 21st century is not a choice 
between ignoring the rest of the world--except when we kill 
terrorists; or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is 
unraveling. Leadership means a wise application of military 
power, and rallying the world behind causes that are right. It 
means seeing our foreign assistance as part of our national 
security, not charity. When we lead nearly 200 nations to the 
most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change--
that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our 
children. When we help Ukraine defend its democracy, or 
Colombia resolve a decades-long war, that strengthens the 
international order we depend upon. When we help African 
countries feed their people and care for the sick, that 
prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, 
we are on track to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS, and we have the 
capacity to accomplish the same thing with malaria--something 
I'll be pushing this Congress to fund this year.
    That's strength. That's leadership. And that kind of 
leadership depends on the power of our example. That is why I 
will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it's 
expensive, it's unnecessary, and it only serves as a 
recruitment brochure for our enemies.
    That's why we need to reject any politics that targets 
people because of race or religion. This isn't a matter of 
political correctness. It's a matter of understanding what 
makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our 
arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and 
the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, 
told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that ``to 
imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the 
best way to take their place.'' When politicians insult 
Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that 
doesn't make us safer. That's not telling it like it is. It's 
just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes 
it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a 
country.
    ``We the People.'' Our Constitution begins with those three 
simple words, words we've come to recognize mean all the 
people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall 
together. That brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most 
important thing I want to say tonight.
    The future we want--opportunity and security for our 
families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, 
peaceful planet for our kids--all that is within our reach. But 
it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if 
we can have rational, constructive debates.
    It will only happen if we fix our politics.
    A better politics doesn't mean we have to agree on 
everything. This is a big country, with different regions and 
attitudes and interests. That's one of our strengths, too. Our 
Founders distributed power between states and branches of 
government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, over 
the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign 
relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of 
security.
    But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its 
citizens. It doesn't work if we think the people who disagree 
with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political 
opponents are unpatriotic. Democracy grinds to a halt without a 
willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are 
contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us. Our 
public life withers when only the most extreme voices get 
attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average 
person feels their voice doesn't matter; that the system is 
rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow 
interest.
    Too many Americans feel that way right now. It's one of the 
few regrets of my presidency--that the rancor and suspicion 
between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There's 
no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt 
might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I'll keep 
trying to be better so long as I hold this office.
    But, my fellow Americans, this cannot be my task--or any 
President's--alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this 
chamber who would like to see more cooperation, a more elevated 
debate in Washington, but feel trapped by the demands of 
getting elected. I know; you've told me. And if we want a 
better politics, it's not enough to just change a Congressman 
or a Senator or even a President; we have to change the system 
to reflect our better selves.
    We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional 
districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not 
the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money 
in our politics, so that a handful of families and hidden 
interests can't bankroll our elections--and if our existing 
approach to campaign finance can't pass muster in the courts, 
we need to work together to find a real solution. We've got to 
make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we 
live now. And over the course of this year, I intend to travel 
the country to push for reforms that do.
    But I can't do these things on my own. Changes in our 
political process--in not just who gets elected but how they 
get elected--that will only happen when the American people 
demand it. It will depend on you. That's what's meant by a 
government of, by, and for the people.
    What I'm asking for is hard. It's easier to be cynical; to 
accept that change isn't possible, and politics is hopeless, 
and to believe that our voices and actions don't matter. But if 
we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with 
money and power will gain greater control over the decisions 
that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another 
economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting 
rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to 
secure. As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to 
fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don't 
look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the 
same background.
    We can't afford to go down that path. It won't deliver the 
economy we want, or the security we want, but most of all, it 
contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world.
    So, my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, whether 
you prefer one party or no party, our collective future depends 
on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To 
vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the 
weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is 
only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. To stay 
active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and 
decency and optimism that I see in the American people every 
single day.
    It won't be easy. Our brand of democracy is hard. But 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--inspired by 
those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and 
kindness that have helped America travel so far. Voices that 
help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white 
or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native 
born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, 
bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have 
the final word--voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.
    They're out there, those voices. They don't get a lot of 
attention, nor do they seek it, but they are busy doing the 
work this country needs doing.
    I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country 
of ours. I see you. I know you're there. You're the reason why 
I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I see 
your quiet, sturdy citizenship all the time.
    I see it in the worker on the assembly line who clocked 
extra shifts to keep his company open, and the boss who pays 
him higher wages to keep him on board.
    I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her 
science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he 
knows she might someday cure a disease.
    I see it in the American who served his time, and dreams of 
starting over--and the business owner who gives him that second 
chance. The protester determined to prove that justice matters, 
and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with 
respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe.
    I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save 
his brothers, the nurse who tends to him 'til he can run a 
marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on.
    It's the son who finds the courage to come out as who he 
is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything 
he's been taught.
    I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast 
her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his 
for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe 
every vote should count, because each of them in different ways 
know how much that precious right is worth.
    That's the America I know. That's the country we love. 
Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and 
unconditional love will have the final word. That's what makes 
me so hopeful about our future. Because of you. I believe in 
you. 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.
                                                      Barack Obama.
    The White House, January 12, 2016.

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