President Obama's Weekly Address (5/18/13)

President remains focused on jobs and the economy
President Obama used this week's address to stay focused on jobs and the economy. Moving beyond what he termed the "Washington echo chamber," President Obama spoke of progress that has been made with an eye towards where we need to go in the future:

"That's why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can -- because too often, our politics aren't focused on the same things you are. Working hard. Supporting your family and supporting your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life.

More than anything, the American people make me optimistic about where we're headed as a nation. Especially after all we've been through during the past several years. And that should encourage us all to work even harder on the on the issues that matter to you.

In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs. And while our unemployment rate is still too high, it's the lowest it's been since 2008. But now we need to create even more good, middle-class jobs, and we've got to do it faster.

Corporate profits have skyrocketed to an all-time high. But now we need to get middle-class wages and incomes rising, too.

Our housing market is healing. But we need to do a lot more to help families stay in their homes, or to help them refinance to take advantage of historically low rates.

And our deficits -- well, they're shrinking at the fastest rate in decades. But now we've got to budget in a smarter way that doesn't hurt middle-class families or harm critical investments in our future." (transcript)

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President Obama's Weekly Address (5/11/13)

President talks housing market, pressures Congress for further assistance
This week, President Obama turned his attention to the housing market, discussing efforts he's made to repair the damage witnessed by the collapse. From refinancing initiatives to stronger consumer protections, the president touched upon programs aimed at stabilizing the market and strengthening home ownership. These remarks come as recent reports show positive signs of a possible recovery:


(PBS NewsHour, March 2013)

In his weekly address, President Obama talked about gains that have been made in the housing market:

"Today, seven years after the real estate bubble burst, triggering the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and costing millions of responsible Americans their jobs and their homes, our housing market is healing. Sales are up. Foreclosures are down. Construction is expanding. And thanks to rising home prices over the past year, 1.7 million more American families have been able to come up for air because they're no longer underwater on their mortgages." (transcript)

The president also pressured Congress to allow all responsible homeowners the potential to refinance, and called for the confirmation of his nominee, Mel Watt, to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

President Obama's Weekly Address:

President Obama's Weekly Address (5/4/13)

President talks jobs, trade, and Senate immigration bill
President Obama began this week's address with a discussion of Friday's jobs numbers and increased trade with Latin America. Turning to immigration reform, President Obama outlined the goals of a proposal making its way through the Senate. Although this Senate bill does not include everything he wants, the president acknowledged its consistence with his principles on the matter:

"In recent weeks, we've seen a commonsense immigration reform bill introduced in the Senate. This bill is a compromise, which means that nobody got everything they wanted -- including me. But it's largely consistent with the principles I've laid out from the beginning.

It would continue to strengthen security at our borders and hold employers more accountable if they knowingly hire undocumented workers.

It would provide a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are already in this country illegally.

And it would modernize our legal immigration system so that we're able to reunite families and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers who will help create good paying jobs and grow our economy." (transcript)

President Obama's Weekly Address:

President Obama's Weekly Address (4/27/13)

President speaks on sequester cuts: "That pain is real."

In this week's address, President Obama discussed the sequester exception Congress recently passed to answer concerns raised by cuts to the FAA. This agreement raised questions as to why an issue that may impact the travel plans of Congress Members garnered such a swift response whereas more basic needs of the poor and middle class are seen as controversial.

The president addressed this question of fairness, urging a replacement of the sequester with his long-held proposal for an evenhanded approach to this nation's fiscal challenges. Even if it isn't felt by our leaders in Congress, President Obama noted, the pain inflicted by these sequester cuts is real:

"A couple of weeks ago, I put forward a budget that replaces the next several years of these dumb cuts with smarter cuts; reforms our tax code to close wasteful special interest loopholes; and invests in things like education, research, and manufacturing that will create new jobs right now.

So I hope Members of Congress will find the same sense of urgency and bipartisan cooperation to help the families still in the crosshairs of these cuts. Members of Congress may not feel the pain felt by kids kicked off of Head Start, or the 750,000 Americans projected to lose their jobs because of these cuts, or the long-term unemployed who will be further hurt by them. But that pain is real. The American people worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one economic crisis just to see your elected officials keep causing more." (transcript)

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President Obama's Weekly Address (4/20/13)

Those three little words: Suspect in Custody

(video courtesy of PBS NewsHour)

Fear greeted an Eastern Massachusetts town on Friday morning. Residents awoke to terror on its streets and uncertainty in its future. But something happened in the city of Watertown, MA. Sounds of gunfire and explosions in the morning turned to cheers and applause by night as news broke that officials had captured the remaining suspect in the horrific attack that struck Boston's 117th annual marathon. A nation rejoiced as it finally heard those three little words it had hoped to hear after a week of hell - suspect in custody.

One tiny tweet made the huge announcement:

CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 20, 2013

In this week's address, the president took time to thank the heroes who rose to the occasion for a city in need. President Obama explained how, through selfless acts of courage, the people of Boston showed the spirit of a nation:

"If anyone wants to know who we are; what America is; how we respond to evil and terror - that's it. Selflessly. Compassionately. And unafraid.

Through the days that would test even the sturdiest of souls, Boston's spirit remains undaunted. America's spirit remains undimmed. Our faith in each other, our love for this country, our common creed that cuts across whatever superficial differences we may have - that's what makes us strong. That's why we endure." (transcript)

President Obama's Weekly Address:

Sandy Hook parent delivers Weekly Address to encourage gun reform legislation

Francine Wheeler: "Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy."

Francine and David Wheeler lost their child, Ben, on that tragic day of December 14, 2012. She and her husband fill in for the president in this week's address to call for commonsense gun reform.

Listen...

President Obama's Weekly Address (4/6/13)

President discusses budget proposal
The goal of striking a balanced approach to the nation's fiscal challenges remains as President Obama used this address to discuss his budget proposal that will be released later this week.

Arguing that America does not have to choose between deficit reduction and economic growth, the president outlined an approach that will cut spending while also investing in the economy. The budget plan, according to the president, includes reforms to Medicare that aim to strengthen its future without harming its guarantee, and also looks to close tax loopholes. Still, the president explained that his proposal will have investments in the middle class and job growth:

"As I said in my State of the Union Address, every day, we should ask ourselves three questions: How do we make America a magnet for good jobs? How do we give our workers the skills they need to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?

To make America a magnet for good jobs, we'll invest in high-tech manufacturing and homegrown American energy, put people to work building new roads, and bridges and schools, and cut red tape to help businesses grow.

To give workers the skills they need to do those jobs, we'll invest in education that begins in the earliest years, and job training that better equips workers to compete in a 21st century economy.

To make sure hard work is rewarded, we'll build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class and focus on revitalizing some of our communities hardest hit by recession and job loss."

President Obama's Weekly Address: