Highlighting positives and pushing to get more done, President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union Address in Washington D.C., Tuesday, January 28, 2014.
Mr. Obama pledged to get more done with or without Congress.
President Obama talked about foreign policy, healthcare, Iran, veterans, and even touched on the Olympics, but the big issues were jobs and the economy.
President Obama mentioned strengthening the middle class several times in his speech. He also discussed equal pay, better education opportunities, help for student loans and the need to increase the minimum wage. Mr. Obama said he will issue an executive order that will require federal contractors to pay federally funded employees $10.10 an hour.
President Obama also said he wants to get immigration reform passed this year.
He wrapped up his speech focusing on the American dream.
”Sometimes we stumble, we make mistakes, we get frustrated or get discouraged, but for more than 200 years, we have put those things aside, and placed our collective shoulder to the wheel of progress,” said President Obama.
Many times in his speech, Mr. Obama said he will get things done this year with or without Congress, issuing executive orders instead.
In the Republican response to the State of the Union, Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers said while both the President and Republicans want Americans to have better lives, Republicans have a different vision.
“One that champions free markets, and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you. It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable. And one where Washington plays by the same rules that you do,” said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
One of the most moving parts of the speech and longest standing ovations was for U.S. Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who was almost killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.