The
2011 State of the Union AddressThe State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
was a speech given by
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
at 9 p.m.
ESTEastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
on January 25, 2011, in the chamber of the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. In this joint session Obama outlined his “vision for an America that’s more determined, more competitive, better positioned for the future—an America where we out-innovate, we out-educate, we out-build the rest of the world; where we take responsibility for our deficits; where we reform our government to meet the demands of a new age.”
Disposition, seating, and attendance
As always, the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Joe BidenJoseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
(as Senate President) and
House SpeakerThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
John BoehnerJohn Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...
sat behind the president. This is the first time a Republican has sat behind President Obama during a
joint session of CongressJoint sessions of the United States Congress are the gatherings together of both houses of the United States Congress...
.
In light of the
2011 Tucson shootingOn January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway...
of Representative
Gabrielle GiffordsGabrielle Dee "Gabby" Giffords is an American politician. A Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, she has represented since 2007. She is the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress...
and others, Senator
Mark UdallMark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
of Colorado proposed that members of both houses sit together regardless of party, breaking with tradition. Sixty members of the House and Senate signaled their support for the plan, and members of both houses sat with members of the opposite party. Groups included Arizona's House delegation of five Republicans and two Democrats (with an empty chair for Giffords), past presidential candidates
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and campaign leaders
John CornynJohn Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
and
Patty MurrayPatricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
. Legislators wore black-and-white ribbons in honor of the victims of the shooting.
After visibly reacting to President Obama's criticism during the 2010 State of the Union of the
Citizens UnitedCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission, , was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment prohibits government from censoring political broadcasts in candidate elections when those broadcasts are funded by corporations or unions...
decision,
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justices
Samuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
,
Antonin ScaliaAntonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, and
Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
did not attend the speech.
Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Ken SalazarKenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
served as the
designated survivorA designated survivor is a member of the United States Cabinet who is appointed to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the president and the country's other top leaders are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential...
and did not attend the speech.
Summary
According to a White House fact sheet published by NMD Newswire US-President Obama underscored in his 2011 State of the Union Address "the need to maintain America’s leadership in a rapidly changing world so that our economy is competitive – growing and working for all Americans." In order to achieve this Obama outlined "a plan to help the United States win the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competition. At the same time, the President understands the need to reform the way our government does business and take responsibility for our deficit - by investing in what makes America stronger and cutting what doesn't."
Revenue/savings
- A five-year freeze in domestic spending projected to save $400 billion over the next decade.
- Elimination of billions in tax breaks for oil companies. The president has previously sought to bring in more than $36 billion over the next decade through tax increases on oil and gas companies, but so far has been unable to win congressional support.
- Reductions in health care costs, including Medicare
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
and Medicaid Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
. Obama said he's willing to consider medical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
reformTort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
to "rein in frivolous lawsuits" and presumably drive down health care costs to the government in return. Though that proposal so far has not moved far beyond talking points, the Congressional Budget OfficeThe Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
and Joint Committee on TaxationThe Joint Committee on Taxation is a Committee of the U.S. Congress established under the Internal Revenue Code at .-Structure:The Joint Committee is composed of ten Members: five from the Senate Finance Committee and five from the House Ways and Means Committee.The Joint Committee is chaired on a...
in 2009 estimated that tort reform could reduce federal government health care costs by $41 billion over 10 years.
- Reform for Social Security. Obama did not offer specifics.
- Ending the Bush-era tax cuts
The Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States...
for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans once the latest extension expires in two years. Before the rate was extended, the Obama administration estimated it would cost $700 billion over the next decade.
- A proposal to "merge, consolidate and reorganize the federal government." Obama said he will submit that proposal to Congress "in the coming months."
- A ban on congressional earmarks
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
.
- A proposal to lower the corporate tax
Corporate tax is imposed in the United States at the Federal, most state, and some local levels on the income of entities treated for tax purposes as corporations. Federal tax rates on corporate taxable income vary from 15% to 35%. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many...
rate. Obama pitched this as part of a broader effort to simplify the tax code—he pledged the changes would not add to the deficit
Expenses
- Pledge to provide 80 percent of Americans with high-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
access in 25 years.
- Pledge to have 1 million electric vehicle
An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
s on the road by 2015.
- Pledge to have 80 percent of the country's electricity come from clean-energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
sources by 2035.
- New investment in biomedical research, information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and clean-energy technology.
- A continuation of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
incentive program offering competitive federal grants to local school systems.
- A call to "redouble" efforts to repair America's aging roads and bridges
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
.
- A call to make a $10,000 tuition tax credit permanent.
Other topics and goals
- A challenge to pursue innovation in "our generations' Sputnik moment."
- Replace No Child Left Behind with another form of education reform. A good amount of time was directed towards education during the address.
- The President announced that he will be taking a trip to Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and El SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
in the spring, to sign trade deals, which will help create tens of thousands of new jobs.
- Remain committed to the War in Afghanistan
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, the War on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, and on pressuring regimes like IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, which is pursuing nuclear weapons, and North KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, which has nuclear weapons.
- Continue alliance with the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Response
Rep.
Paul RyanPaul Davis Ryan is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party and has been ranked among the party's most influential voices on economic policy....
of Wisconsin, chairman of the
House Budget CommitteeThe U.S. House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress...
, gave the
Republican responseThe Republican response to the State of the Union address, sometimes referred to simply as the Republican response, is a rebuttal speech, often brief, delivered by a representative of the Republican Party following a presidential State of the Union address when the president is a Democrat...
afterward.
Rep.
Michele BachmannMichele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
of Minnesota gave an address in response to Obama's speech on behalf of the
Tea Party ExpressThe Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidates running for state and federal offices...
. Some Republicans opposed Bachmann's decision, worrying she would draw attention away from Ryan.
Pajamas MediaPJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
reported that Bachmann was refused access to the
Capitol Hill ClubThe National Republican Club of Capitol Hill, commonly known as the Capitol Hill Club, is private social club for Republicans in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1951 by former New Jersey Congressman James C...
to make her speech, forcing her to give the speech from the National Press Club.
Florida Republican Senator
Marco RubioMarco Antonio Rubio is the junior United States Senator from Florida . A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ....
gave a mixed review of Obama's speech, saying, "While I was encouraged by the President's support for an earmark ban and will work with him towards that goal, his call for a mere budget freeze does not go far enough in tackling our record debt. At the very least, we should freeze non-defense and non-veterans discretionary spending to what it was before Washington began its unprecedented, record-setting spending binge two years ago. But most importantly, we need to finally begin fundamentally reforming the way our government spends the American people's money." Democratic Senator
Bill NelsonClarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
, also of Florida, praised Obama for "bringing us out of recession with jobs, helping small business, helping seniors with retirement security, getting government spending under control. Then he talked about civility. How do we treat each other? That’s going to matter a lot." Florida Governor Rick Scott strongly criticized Obama's speech while New York Senators Chuck Schumer and
Kirsten GillibrandKirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
praised his economic agenda.
Leaders of several smaller political parties also gave prepared responses to the speech. The
Libertarian PartyThe Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
's response was delivered by Executive Director Wes Benedict. Billy Wharton, co-chair of the
Socialist Party USAThe Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
, released a response through his party's website. Sam Webb, chairman of the
Communist Party USAThe Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, released a response through the party's main website.
External links
Opposition responses