President Barack Obama will deliver the annual State of The Union address on Tuesday evening.
With the economy improving, Obama is set to unveil an ambitious agenda for his final two years in office.
The speech will begin at 9 p.m. ET.
Read excerpts of the speech below:
“We are fifteen years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.
But tonight, we turn the page.”
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“At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next fifteen years, and for decades to come.
Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?”
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“So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way.”
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“In fact, at every moment of economic change throughout our history, this country has taken bold action to adapt to new circumstances, and to make sure everyone gets a fair shot. We set up worker protections, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to protect ourselves from the harshest adversity. We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the internet – tools they needed to go as far as their effort will take them.
That’s what middle-class economics is – the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”
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“I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership. We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now – and around the globe, it is making a difference.”
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“In Iraq and Syria, American leadership – including our military power – is stopping ISIL’s advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism. This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.”
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“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids. We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.”
More live updates on the State Of the Union Below
HuffPost’s Kate Sheppard reports:
WASHINGTON — Among the guests of first lady Michelle Obama for Tuesday’s State of the Union address is a Florida-based climate researcher and activist.
Miami native Nicole Hernandez Hammer, described by the White House as a “mother and sea level rise researcher,” will watch as President Barack Obama gives his sixth such address.
Hernandez Hammer, 39, said she got the call last Tuesday inviting her to Washington for the address. “I had never imagined anything like that,” she told The Huffington Post on Tuesday before the speech. “It was hard to believe it was going to happen.”
Read the full story here.
Here’s HuffPost’s State of the Union drinking game, so you can play along as you watch the president’s speech.
Anthony Mendez knows a thing or two about defeating the odds.
The 19-year-old’s best friend was shot and killed during a neighborhood feud in 2011. A year later, Mendez’s family was evicted from their home in the Bronx and forced to live in a shelter for the next six months.
And on Jan. 20, he’ll be first lady Michelle Obama’s guest at the State of the Union, according to USA Today.
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— Connie Britton (@conniebritton) January 20, 2015
The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake reports on an ad running in the Washington area during Obama’s speech that likens “climate change deniers to other science deniers who turned out to be very wrong.” Read about it here.
Sneak peek at my prep for tonight’s Republican Address following #SOTU pic.twitter.com/kF8a9IVfR4
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) January 20, 2015
HuffPost is interviewing Obama administration officials immediately after the president’s annual State of the Union address on Tuesday.
For more information, go here.
The AP reports:
Key elements of the economic proposals President Barack Obama will outline in his State of the Union address Tuesday appear to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and middle-class economic issues, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress.
Obama’s calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, making community college free for many students and expanding paid leave for workers stand little chance of winning approval from the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. But the debate over middle-class economics is looking critical for the coming campaign.
Read more here.
Yahoo’s Meredith Shiner reports:
It may only draw half the viewers it once did, but for staffers at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday night’s annual State of the Union address by the president is their Super Bowl.
Read more here.
Check back here for updates on Obama’s annual speech.
