President Obama called on Congress to work together and come up with bipartisan ways to pay down the debt and grow the economy.
We began this year with economists and business leaders saying that we are poised to grow in 2013. And there are real signs of progress: Home prices are starting to climb again. Car sales are at a five-year high. Manufacturing is roaring back. Our businesses created 2.2 million jobs last year. And we just learned that our economy created more jobs over the last few months than economists originally thought.
But this week, we also received the first estimate of America’s economic growth over the last few months. And it reminded us that bad decisions in Washington can get in the way of our economic progress.
We all agree that it’s critical to cut unnecessary spending. But we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. It hasn’t worked in the past, and it won’t work today. It could slow down our recovery. It could weaken our economy. And it could cost us jobs – now, and in the future.
The President used his weekly address to double down on some of the measures he spoke about on Tuesday. Proposals that “grew out of meetings Vice President Biden and his task force held over the last month with more than 200 different groups – from parents and teachers; to law enforcement and sportsmen; to religious leaders and mental health professionals.”
He spoke about the limited steps he can do on his own and called on Congress to do their part to help cut down on gun violence.
My administration is taking a series of actions right away – from strengthening our background check system, to helping schools hire more resource officers if they want them, to directing the Centers for Disease Control to study the best ways to reduce gun violence.
But the truth is, making a real and lasting difference also requires Congress to act – and act soon
And he again called on the American people to get involved, making sure that their member of Congress is in favor of sensible laws to curb gun violence.
Following his meeting with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama used his weekly address to update the American people on how we will end the war in Afghanistan, and how our goal of ensuring that al Qaeda never again uses Afghanistan to launch attacks against America is within reach. The war will be over by the end of next year, and we must now focus on the task of rebuilding America, strengthening our economy, and supporting our brave troops and veterans, and the President is confident we can meet these challenges by working together as a nation.
President Obama used his weekly address to talk about the bipartisan agreement between Democrats and Republicans that averted the “fiscal cliff.” He thanked both sides for working together and putting the American people first.
The President also warned that not working together on future problems – like the upcoming debt ceiling – could lead to catastrophic outcome not only for the United States economy, but for the worldwide economy as well.
And as I said earlier this week, one thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again.
In this week’s presidential address, President Obama spoke about the tragedy in Newtown Connecticut and insist that politicians and the nation must come together to take “meaningful action to prevent more tragedies” in the future.
We have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years. An elementary school in Newtown. A shopping mall in Oregon. A house of worship in Wisconsin. A movie theater in Colorado. Countless street corners in places like Chicago and Philadelphia.
Any of these neighborhoods could be our own. So we have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this. Regardless of the politics.
Two years ago, Republicans held the middle class American people hostage and demanded that the rich get a continuation of the Bush tax cuts. Those tax cuts were set to expire the last day of December 2010, but Republicans told the President that if the rich couldn’t get more tax cuts, then the middle class would suffer. To avoid more suffering by the middle class, the President went along with the Republicans’ demands.
And here we are again, except this time, the American people voted for President Obama knowing that he was going to end those tax cuts for the rich. That was what he campaigned on for almost two years and the American people approved. But Republicans are still turning a deaf ear to what the people want and again, two years later, Republicans are trying to use middle class America as a bargaining chip to get more tax cuts for the rich.
Their playbook worked in 2010, but something seems different this time around as cracks are developing within the Republican ranks. Republicans like Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) signed the Grover Norquist pledge not to raise taxes, but he recently released a statement saying that he “doesn’t plan to [re-sign] it for the 19th Congressional District.” And another New York Republican Representative Peter King, has decided to leave Grover’s pledge, calling it a two-year deal.
Republican Lindsey Graham has also voiced his opinion against the pledge. “When you talk about eliminating deductions and tax credits for the few, at the expense of the many, I think over time the Republican party’s position is going to shift,” Graham said. “It needs to, quite frankly, because we are $16 trillion in debt.”
But even with these and other Republicans changing their minds on the no-tax hike pledge, the Republican House Leader John Boehner is still trying to hold the gun to the head of the middle class. Boehner recently held a press conference criticizing the President’s plan because he thinks the plan raises more revenue from taxing the rich, than from services he want wants to cut from the poor.
President Obama is hoping that there are enough Republicans willing to go against their desire to sink the middle class to protect rich people. In his recent weekly address, the President said;
So let’s begin by doing what we all agree on. Both parties say we should keep middle-class taxes low. The Senate has already passed a bill to keep income taxes from going up on middle-class families. Democrats in the House are ready to do the same thing. And if we can just get a few House Republicans on board, I’ll sign this bill as soon as Congress sends it my way.
The president’s plan would allow the tax cuts to continue for the middle class and those earning up to $250,000 a year. Those earning over $250,000 would see their rates on income above that amount go back to what those rates were under the Clinton administration. The Democratic controlled Senate has already passed this bill, but Boehner and the Republicans refuse to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.
If Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on this issue over the next few weeks, all the Bush tax cuts would expire and automatic cuts will go into effect in January. The preferred method of course, would be working out a deal between the two parties, but that must be done with the rich and the middle class carrying the burdens of that deal, not just the middle class. And including the rich in such a deal is something Republicans are against.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking towards December 31st.
Picking up right where he left off before the election, President Obama continued his call for maintaining the middle class tax cut, while asking the rich to pay their fair share. He once again called on Republicans to get on board, instead of holding the middle class “hostage” in their effort to pander to the rich.
When it comes to taxes, for example, there are two pathways available.
One says, if Congress fails to act by the end of the year, then everybody’s taxes automatically go up – including the 98% of Americans who make less than $250,000 a year. Our economy can’t afford that right now. You can’t afford that right now. And nobody wants that to happen.
The other path is for Congress to pass a law right away to prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of anyone’s income. That means all Americans – including the wealthiest Americans – get a tax cut. And 98 percent of Americans, and 97 percent of all small business owners, won’t see their income taxes go up a single dime.
The Senate has already passed a bill like this. Democrats in the House are ready to pass one, too. All we need is for Republicans in the House to come on board.
We shouldn’t hold the middle class hostage while Congress debates tax cuts for the wealthy. Let’s begin our work by actually doing what we all agree on. Let’s keep taxes low for the middle class. And let’s get it done soon – so we can give families and businesses some good news going into the holiday season.
President Obama used his Weekly Address to speak about the tragedy that happened in Libya where four Americans were killed. The President reassured Americans that as long as he’s Commander-In-Chief, he will do all he can to bring justice to the families of the four fallen heroes.
As we mourn their loss, we must also send a clear and resolute message to the world: those who attack our people will find no escape from justice. We will not waver in their pursuit. And we will never allow anyone to shake the resolve of the United States of America.
This tragic attack takes place at a time of turmoil and protest in many different countries. I have made it clear that the United States has a profound respect for people of all faiths. We stand for religious freedom. And we reject the denigration of any religion – including Islam.
Yet there is never any justification for violence. There is no religion that condones the targeting of innocent men and women. There is no excuse for attacks on our Embassies and Consulates. And so long as I am Commander-in-Chief, the United States will never tolerate efforts to harm our fellow Americans.
President Obama marks the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks by remembering the innocent lives lost, and honoring the first responders and men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed to keep our country safe.
In the difficult years following the attacks, the United States has come back stronger as a nation, decimated the leadership of al-Qaeda, ensured that Osama bin Laden will never attack America again, and strengthened our alliances across the world.
The President used this weeks address to talk about the critical need to strengthen and preserve Medicare for our seniors and future generations.
Through the President’s Affordable Care Act, nearly 5.4 million seniors have already saved an average of more than $700 on prescription drugs, preventive care services like mammograms are free without co-pay, and the President’s plan extends the life of Medicare by almost a decade by cracking down on waste, fraud, and overpayments.
Republicans in Congress have put forward a very different plan that turns Medicare into a voucher program—under one plan forcing seniors to pay an extra $6,400 out of their own pocket for care-and effectively ends Medicare as we know it. The President believes that our seniors deserve better and will work with anyone to keep improving the current system to give our seniors the security and peace of mind they have earned.
How can we truly say we are the greatest nation on earth when we… well, when Republicans… continue firing Teachers – the people who are for the most part, responsible for our nations future. That was the message President Obama delivered in his weekly address, as he called again on Congress to approve one of his proposals that will put Teachers back into the classroom.
“Since 2009, we’ve lost more than 300,000 education jobs, in part, because of budget cuts at the state and local level,” the President said. “That’s the opposite of what we should be doing as a country. States should be making education a priority in their budgets, even in tough fiscal times. And Congress should be willing to help out – because this affects all of us.”
He continued;
That’s why part of the jobs bill that I sent to Congress last September included support for states to prevent further layoffs and to rehire teachers who’d lost their jobs. But here we are – a year later with tens of thousands more educators laid off – and Congress still hasn’t done anything about it.
President Obama congratulates all of the American athletes competing in the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. These men and women have inspired us all with their hard work, determination, and their indomitable spirit as they present the best of America to the rest of the world. The President tells our Olympic and Paralympic competitors that the American people could not be prouder of them, and thanks them for reminding us that we are one people, and by working together we can achieve great things.
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