Obama at State of the Union: 'Give America a raise'
President Barack Obama called on Congress to help him restore “opportunity for all” in his fifth State of the Union address and said he will take action even if they do not.
“America does not stand still, and neither will I,” Obama said. “So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Obama spent much of the speech highlighting the successes of his administration over the past five years and laying out executive actions he will take to advance his agenda, often urging Congress to expand on those actions.
He announced a minimum wage increase to $10.10 per hour for employees of federal contractors through an executive order, in addition to urging Congress to pass a federal minimum wage hike and an extension of long-term unemployment insurance.
"This will help families," Obama said. "It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn’t involve any new bureaucratic program. So join the rest of the country. Say 'yes.' Give America a raise."
The speech was geared toward addressing declining economic mobility and rising income inequality, in addition to lingering unemployment rates.
“Inequality has deepened, upward mobility has stalled," Obama said. "The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by – let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all. Our job is to reverse these trends.”
In the official Republican response, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Obama's policies have contributed to growing inequality of opportunity.
"Too many people are falling further and further behind because right now the president's policies are leaving them behind," McMorris Rodgers said.
Obama defended the Affordable Care Act, his signature health care reform law that came under fire last year for its bungled rollout, tying it to the economic recovery. He blasted House Republicans for voting to repeal it several times over the past year.
"Let's not have another 40-something votes to repeal a law that's already helping millions of Americans," Obama said to loud applause from Democrats. "The first 40 were plenty. We all owe it to the American people to say what we're for, not just what we're against."
Obamacare's then-faulty website and cases of Americans being dropped from their health insurance plans caused Obama’s approval rating to fall to the lowest point of his presidency, underscoring the president's need to connect with voters ahead of the November midterm elections.
Indeed, Obama spent much of his speech reaching out to the Democratic base – including students and women.
He called on Congress to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
"Today, women make up about half our workforce, but they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns," Obama said. "That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. Women deserve equal pay for equal work."
The president also highlighted his "all-of-the-above energy strategy" that invests in alternative energy while expanding domestic oil and natural gas production.
"Let’s continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don’t need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future," Obama said.
