Obama Hits the Road With 'State of the Union' Goals

After outlining his goals for the coming year in his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama is on the road to promote his policy ideas.

The president began the day in suburban Washington, speaking about his call for a higher minimum wage for all American workers. He again pledged to advance his economic agenda, even without Congressional support, as he did Tuesday before Congress.

"But America does not stand still, and neither will I," said Obama. "So whenever and wherever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that is what I am going to do."

Obama said no one who works full time should ever have to raise a child in poverty.

Later, he travels to Pittsburgh in the nearby U.S. state of Pennsylvania with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, to tell steel workers about his idea for a new federally backed retirement savings account.

On Thursday, Obama will visit a gas-engine facility near Milwaukee, in the midwestern state of Wisconsin, and speak to high school students in Nashville, Tennessee.

It is a tradition for presidents to travel after delivering their annual address to Congress, pitching their legislative goals for the year ahead.  Obama will explain his ideas to reform the tax code, create jobs, improve education opportunities and fund innovation.

During his speech Tuesday, the president noted an international agreement on Iran's nuclear program, saying diplomacy backed by pressure has reversed parts of the program for the first time in a decade.  He emphasized he did not want lawmakers to put forth new sanctions that could derail the process.

"But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it.  For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed," said Obama.

He also discussed the ongoing talks with the Afghan government over the future of U.S. troops beyond the 2014 planned withdrawal of international forces.

"If the Afghan government signs a security agreement that we have negotiated, a small force of Americans could remain in Afghanistan with NATO allies to carry out two narrow missions: training and assisting Afghan forces, and counterterrorism operations to pursue any remnants of al-Qaida," explained Obama

Obama also urged approval of an immigration reform measure that passed in the Senate last year. The bill stalled in the House of Representatives under intense opposition from conservatives.

"Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades," he said. "And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, to invent and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this year."  

In the Republican response to Obama's speech, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state blamed the administration's policies for widening the gap between where people's lives stand now and where they want to be.

President Obama's Previous State of the Union Addresses

2009:  Not technically a State of the Union, Obama said years of irresponsibility and short-term thinking had brought a "day of reckoning."  
2010:  Obama urged Americans to work together to solve the damaged economy and pledged to remove U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
2011:  Obama proposed a partial government spending freeze and said the U.S. stands with the people of Tunisia, whose protests drove their president out of the country at the start of the Arab Spring.
2012:  Obama outlined a new economic blueprint and highlighted progress in Afghanistan and the killing of Osama bin Laden.
2013:  Obama detailed the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.


fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-to-promote-state-of-the-union-goals/1839912.html

Comentarios

Entradas populares de este blog

Las 3 banderas de Chile

FALLECE ROY GARBER, UNO DE LOS PROTAGONISTAS DE LA SERIE “GUERRA DE ENVÍOS” EN A&E

Falleció hija de dos años de la periodista Mónica Rincón.Clara Galdames dejó de existir en horas de esta mañana, tras llevar días internada en la UTI por problemas al corazón. La niña había presentado complicaciones físicas desde su nacimiento.