U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

29–011 2013

113th Congress, 1st Session – – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 113–1 

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 

FEBRUARY 13, 2013.—Message and accompanying papers referred to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 


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To the Congress of the United States: 

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow 

citizens: 

Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this Chamber 

that ‘‘the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners 

for progress . . . It is my task,’’ he said, ‘‘to report the State of the 

Union—to improve it is the task of us all.’’ 

Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American 

people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding 

war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After 

years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six 

million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five 

years, and less foreign oil than we have in twenty. Our housing 

market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, 

patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before. 

Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say 

with renewed confidence that the state of our Union is stronger. 

But we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans 

whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our 

economy is adding jobs—but too many people still can’t find fulltime employment. Corporate profits have rocketed to all-time 

highs—but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely 

budged. 

It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of 

America’s economic growth—a rising, thriving middle class. 

It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built 

this country—the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what 

you look like, or who you love. 

It is our unfinished task to make sure that this Government 

works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the 

doors of opportunity to every child across this great Nation. 

The American people don’t expect Government to solve every 

problem. They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on 

every issue. But they do expect us to put the Nation’s interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise 

where we can. For they know that America moves forward only 

when we do so together; and that the responsibility of improving 

this Union remains the task of us all. 

Our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our 

budget—decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of 

our recovery. 

Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion—mostly through spending cuts, but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent 


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of Americans. As a result, we are more than halfway towards the 

goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need 

to stabilize our finances. 

Now we need to finish the job. And the question is, how? 

In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties 

couldn’t agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion 

dollars’ worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this 

year. These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our 

military readiness. They’d devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. That’s why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists have already 

said that these cuts, known here in Washington as ‘‘the sequester,’’ 

are a really bad idea. 

Now, some in this Congress have proposed preventing only the 

defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education 

and job training; Medicare and Social Security benefits. 

That idea is even worse. Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term 

debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. And 

those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must 

embrace the need for modest reforms—otherwise, our retirement 

programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children, 

and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations. 

But we can’t ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder 

the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more 

from the wealthiest and most powerful. We won’t grow the middle 

class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college onto families that are already struggling, or by forcing communities to lay 

off more teachers, cops, and firefighters. Most Americans—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—understand that we can’t 

just cut our way to prosperity. They know that broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction, 

with spending cuts and revenue, and with everybody doing their 

fair share. And that’s the approach I offer tonight. 

On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the 

same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next 

decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles 

commission. Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the 

growth of health care costs. The reforms I’m proposing go even further. We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. We’ll bring down 

costs by changing the way our Government pays for Medicare, because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests 

ordered or days spent in the hospital—they should be based on the 

quality of care that our seniors receive. And I am open to additional reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the 

guarantee of a secure retirement. Our Government shouldn’t make 

promises we cannot keep—but we must keep the promises we’ve already made. 

To hit the rest of our deficit reduction target, we should do what 

leaders in both parties have already suggested, and save hundreds 

of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions 

for the well-off and well-connected. After all, why would we choose 


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to make deeper cuts to education and Medicare just to protect special interest tax breaks? How is that fair? How does that promote 

growth? 

Now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform 

that encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. The 

American people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses 

spend less time filling out complicated forms, and more time expanding and hiring; a tax code that ensures billionaires with highpowered accountants can’t pay a lower rate than their hard-working secretaries; a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas, and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that 

create jobs right here in America. That’s what tax reform can deliver. That’s what we can do together. 

I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform won’t be easy. 

The politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt 

our economy, and visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans. So let’s set party interests aside, and work to pass a budget 

that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let’s do it without the brinksmanship that 

stresses consumers and scares off investors. The greatest Nation on 

Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one 

manufactured crisis to the next. Let’s agree, right here, right now, 

to keep the people’s Government open, pay our bills on time, and 

always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of 

America. The American people have worked too hard, for too long, 

rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another. 

Now, most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be 

part of our agenda. But let’s be clear: deficit reduction alone is not 

an economic plan. A growing economy that creates good, middleclass jobs—that must be the North Star that guides our efforts. 

Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a Nation: 

How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our 

people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we 

make sure that hard work leads to a decent living? 

A year and a half ago, I put forward an American Jobs Act that 

independent economists said would create more than one million 

new jobs. I thank the last Congress for passing some of that agenda, and I urge this Congress to pass the rest. Tonight, I’ll lay out 

additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent 

with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months 

ago. Let me repeat—nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase 

our deficit by a single dime. It’s not a bigger Government we need, 

but a smarter Government that sets priorities and invests in broadbased growth. 

Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and 

manufacturing. 

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers 

have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is 

bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from 

Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is 

opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, 

Apple will start making Macs in America again. 


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There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. 

Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute 

in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a stateof-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing 

that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns. So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments 

of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization 

into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to 

help create a network of fifteen of these hubs and guarantee that 

the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America. 

If we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in 

the best ideas. Every dollar we invested to map the human genome 

returned $140 to our economy. Today, our scientists are mapping 

the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s; developing 

drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to 

make batteries ten times more powerful. Now is not the time to gut 

these job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is 

the time to reach a level of research and development not seen 

since the height of the Space Race. And today, no area holds more 

promise than our investments in American energy. 

After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control 

our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have 

in 15 years. We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate from 

sources like wind and solar—with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever 

before—and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. 

And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon 

pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen. 

But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more 

to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes 

a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all 

come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods— 

all are now more frequent and intense. We can choose to believe 

that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, 

and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just 

a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science—and act before it’s too late. 

The good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue 

while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the 

one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few 

years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and 

speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy. 

Four years ago, other countries dominated the clean energy market and the jobs that came with it. We’ve begun to change that. 

Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity 

in America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper 


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by the year—so let’s drive costs down even further. As long as 

countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we. 

In the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power 

and greater energy independence. That’s why my Administration 

will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the 

research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner 

and protects our air and water. 

Indeed, much of our new-found energy is drawn from lands and 

waters that we, the public, own together. So tonight, I propose we 

use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security 

Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars 

and trucks off oil for good. If a non-partisan coalition of CEOs and 

retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can 

we. Let’s take their advice and free our families and businesses 

from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too 

long. I’m also issuing a new goal for America: let’s cut in half the 

energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next twenty 

years. The States with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings will receive Federal support to help make it happen. 

America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair. Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and hire: a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or 

one with high-speed rail and internet; high-tech schools and selfhealing power grids. The CEO of Siemens America—a company 

that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina—has said 

that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs. 

And I know that you want these job-creating projects in your districts. I’ve seen you all at the ribbon-cuttings. 

Tonight, I propose a ‘‘Fix-It-First’’ program to put people to work 

as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 

70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. And to 

make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to 

move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern 

schools worthy of our children. Let’s prove that there is no better 

place to do business than the United States of America. And let’s 

start right away. 

Part of our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector. 

Today, our housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 

2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years, home 

purchases are up nearly 50 percent, and construction is expanding 

again. 

But even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected. 

Too many families who have never missed a payment and want to 

refinance are being told no. That’s holding our entire economy 

back, and we need to fix it. Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that would give every responsible homeowner in America the 

chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it before. What are we waiting for? Take a vote, and send me that bill. Right now, overlapping 


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regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first 

home. What’s holding us back? Let’s streamline the process, and 

help our economy grow. 

These initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and 

housing will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand 

and create new jobs. But none of it will matter unless we also 

equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs. And 

that has to start at the earliest possible age. 

Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, 

the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than 3 

in 10 four-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks 

a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the 

most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them 

for the rest of their lives. 

Tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America. Every dollar we invest 

in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars 

later on—by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, 

even reducing violent crime. In States that make it a priority to 

educate our youngest children, like Georgia or Oklahoma, studies 

show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade 

level, graduate high school, hold a job, and form more stable families of their own. So let’s do what works, and make sure none of 

our children start the race of life already behind. Let’s give our 

kids that chance. 

Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on 

a path to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on 

graduating their high-school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges, so that they’re 

ready for a job. At schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration 

between New York Public Schools, the City University of New 

York, and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma 

and an associate degree in computers or engineering. 

We need to give every American student opportunities like this. 

Four years ago, we started Race to the Top—a competition that 

convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and 

higher standards, for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year. Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the 

demands of a high-tech economy. We’ll reward schools that develop 

new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes 

that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math—the skills 

today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs right now and in the 

future. 

Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need 

some higher education. It’s a simple fact: the more education you 

have, the more likely you are to have a job and work your way into 

the middle class. But today, skyrocketing costs price way too many 

young people out of a higher education, or saddle them with 

unsustainable debt. 

Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we have made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the 

last few years. But taxpayers cannot continue to subsidize the soarVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:27 Feb 15, 2013 Jkt 029011 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HD001.XXX HD001

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ing cost of higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep 

costs down, and it’s our job to make sure they do. Tonight, I ask 

Congress to change the Higher Education Act, so that affordability 

and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of Federal aid. And tomorrow, my Administration will 

release a new ‘‘College Scorecard’’ that parents and students can 

use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can 

get the most bang for your educational buck. 

To grow our middle class, our citizens must have access to the 

education and training that today’s jobs require. But we also have 

to make sure that America remains a place where everyone who’s 

willing to work hard has the chance to get ahead. 

Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. And right now, leaders from 

the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all 

agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration 

reform. 

Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on 

the progress my Administration has already made—putting more 

boots on the southern border than at any time in our history, and 

reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years. 

Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned 

citizenship—a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to 

the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. 

And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to 

cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highlyskilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and 

grow our economy. 

In other words, we know what needs to be done. As we speak, 

bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft 

a bill, and I applaud their efforts. Now let’s get this done. Send me 

a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, 

and I will sign it right away. 

But we can’t stop there. We know our economy is stronger when 

our wives, mothers, and daughters can live their lives free from 

discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic 

violence. Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women 

Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. I urge the 

House to do the same. And I ask this Congress to declare that 

women should earn a living equal to their efforts, and finally pass 

the Paycheck Fairness Act this year. 

We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest 

day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s 

why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, 

nineteen states have chosen to bump theirs even higher. 

Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest Nation on Earth, no 

one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise 

the Federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. 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 


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eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across 

the country, it would mean customers with more money in their 

pockets. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after 

year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never 

been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of 

living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on. 

Tonight, let’s also recognize that there are communities in this 

country where no matter how hard you work, it’s virtually impossible to get ahead. Factory towns decimated from years of plants 

packing up. Inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural, where 

young adults are still fighting for their first job. America is not a 

place where chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. And that is why we need to build new ladders of opportunity 

into the middle class for all who are willing to climb them. 

Let’s offer incentives to companies that hire Americans who’ve 

got what it takes to fill that job opening, but have been out of work 

so long that no one will give them a chance. Let’s put people back 

to work rebuilding vacant homes in run-down neighborhoods. And 

this year, my Administration will begin to partner with 20 of the 

hardest-hit towns in America to get these communities back on 

their feet. We’ll work with local leaders to target resources at public safety, education, and housing. We’ll give new tax credits to 

businesses that hire and invest. And we’ll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrents to marriage for low-income couples, and doing more to encourage fatherhood—because 

what makes you a man isn’t the ability to conceive a child; it’s having the courage to raise one. 

Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America. It 

is this kind of prosperity—broad, shared, and built on a thriving 

middle class—that has always been the source of our progress at 

home. It is also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world. 

Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who 

sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with 

confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan, 

and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda. Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and 

women. This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while 

Afghan Security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that 

over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home 

from Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue. And by the end of 

next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over. 

Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign 

Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will 

change. We are negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan 

forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and 

counter-terrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of 

al Qaeda and their affiliates. 

Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of 

its former self. Different al Qaeda affiliates and extremist groups 

have emerged—from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The threat 

these groups pose is evolving. But to meet this threat, we don’t 


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need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad, 

or occupy other nations. Instead, we will need to help countries like 

Yemen, Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security, and help 

allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali. And, 

where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue 

to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest 

threat to Americans. 

As we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. That is why 

my Administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal 

and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism operations. 

Throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. 

I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word 

that we’re doing things the right way. So, in the months ahead, 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. 

Of course, our challenges don’t end with al Qaeda. America will 

continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world’s most 

dangerous weapons. The regime in North Korea must know that 

they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their 

international obligations. 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. 

Likewise, the leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time 

for a diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations, and we will do what is 

necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. At the 

same time, we will engage Russia to seek further reductions in our 

nuclear arsenals, and continue leading the global effort to secure 

nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands—because 

our ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead. 

America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks. We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private e-mail. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our 

corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to 

sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security 

and our economy. 

That’s why, earlier today, I signed a new Executive Order that 

will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our 

jobs, and our privacy. Now, Congress must act as well, by passing 

legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our 

networks and deter attacks. 

Even as we protect our people, we should remember that today’s 

world presents not only dangers, but opportunities. To boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in 

the growing markets of Asia, we intend to complete negotiations on 

a Trans-Pacific Partnership. And tonight, I am announcing that we 

will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and InVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:27 Feb 15, 2013 Jkt 029011 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HD001.XXX HD001

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vestment Partnership with the European Union—because trade 

that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of goodpaying American jobs. 

We also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of 

our world enriches us all. In many places, people live on little more 

than a dollar a day. So the United States will join with our allies 

to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades: by connecting more people to the global economy and empowering women; 

by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve 

and helping communities to feed, power, and educate themselves; 

by saving the world’s children from preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation. 

Above all, America must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom during this period of historic change. I saw the power of hope 

last year in Rangoon—when Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed an 

American President into the home where she had been imprisoned 

for years; when thousands of Burmese lined the streets, waving 

American flags, including a man who said, ‘‘There is justice and 

law in the United States. I want our country to be like that.’’ 

In defense of freedom, we will remain the anchor of strong alliances from the Americas to Africa; from Europe to Asia. In the 

Middle East, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy. The 

process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the course 

of change in countries like Egypt; but we can—and will—insist on 

respect for the fundamental rights of all people. We will keep the 

pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and 

support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. 

And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and 

a lasting peace. These are the messages I will deliver when I travel 

to the Middle East next month. 

All this work depends on the courage and sacrifice of those who 

serve in dangerous places at great personal risk—our diplomats, 

our intelligence officers, and the men and women of the United 

States Armed Forces. As long as I’m Commander in Chief, we will 

do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country 

abroad, and we will maintain the best military in the world. We 

will invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime spending. We will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families—gay and straight. We 

will draw upon the courage and skills of our sisters and daughters, 

because women have proven under fire that they are ready for combat. We will keep faith with our veterans—investing in world-class 

care, including mental health care, for our wounded warriors; supporting our military families; and giving our veterans the benefits, 

education, and job opportunities they have earned. And I want to 

thank my wife Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden for their continued dedication to serving our military families as well as they serve us. 

But defending our freedom is not the job of our military alone. 

We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes our most fundamental right as 

citizens: the right to vote. When any Americans—no matter where 

they live or what their party—are denied that right simply because 

they can’t wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, 


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we are betraying our ideals. That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing 

a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in 

America. And I’m asking two long-time experts in the field, who’ve 

recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. 

The American people demand it. And so does our democracy. 

Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little if we don’t come 

together to protect our most precious resource—our children. 

It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the 

first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But 

this time is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans— 

Americans who believe in the 2nd Amendment—have come together around commonsense reform—like background checks that 

will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to 

prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police 

chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because they are tired of being 

outgunned. 

Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. If you want 

to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote. 

Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand 

birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from 

our lives by a bullet from a gun. 

One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. 

She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She 

was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought 

they were her best friend. Just three weeks ago, she was here, in 

Washington, with her classmates, performing for her country at my 

inauguration. And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house. 

Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, 

along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been 

torn apart by gun violence. They deserve a vote. 

Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. 

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. 

Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in 

this country. Indeed, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts 

will perfectly solve all the challenges I’ve outlined tonight. But we 

were never sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to make 

what difference we can, to secure this Nation, expand opportunity, 

and uphold our ideals through the hard, often frustrating, but absolutely necessary work of self-government. 

We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans the same 

way they look out for one another, every single day, usually without fanfare, all across this country. We should follow their example. 

We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named 

Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into 

darkness, her thoughts were not with how her own home was 


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faring—they were with the twenty precious newborns in her care 

and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe. 

We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named 

Desiline Victor. When she arrived at her polling place, she was told 

the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks 

like her would get to have their say. Hour after hour, a throng of 

people stayed in line in support of her. Because Desiline is 102 

years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a 

sticker that read ‘‘I Voted.’’ 

We should follow the example of a police officer named Brian 

Murphy. When a gunman opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and Brian was the first to arrive, he did not consider his 

own safety. He fought back until help arrived, and ordered his fellow officers to protect the safety of the Americans worshiping inside—even as he lay bleeding from twelve bullet wounds. 

When asked how he did that, Brian said, ‘‘That’s just the way 

we’re made.’’ 

That’s just the way we’re made. 

We may do different jobs, and wear different uniforms, and hold 

different views than the person beside us. But as Americans, we all 

share the same proud title: 

We are citizens. It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we’re made. It describes 

what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country 

only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and 

to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights 

of others; and that well into our third century as a Nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be 

the authors of the next great chapter in our American story. 

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of 

America. 

BARACK OBAMA. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, February 12, 2013. 

Æ 


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