>> thank you as always. i am well. >> i am good, i am good. >> good to see you. this is very exciting.

>> thank you for everything. >> good, how are you? >> it is great to see you. how are you? good to see you.

>> how are you?

[gavel] >> the president of the united states. [applause]

>> houle are you? it is good to see you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.

members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to use the president of the night of states. -- to you the president of the united states. >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. everyone, please have a seat. mr. speaker, mr. presidentvice president, fellow americans, and tonight we meet at an argentine for our country. we continue to face an economic crisis that has led millions of

our neighbors jobs and a political crisis that has made things worse. this past week reporters have been asking what will this be to mean for the president? well will it mean for congress ? how will it affect the polls and the next election? the millions of americans who are watching right now to not care about politics. they have real-life concerns. they have spent months looking for work. others are doing their best just to scrape by, giving night out with the family to save bond gas or make the mortgage, postponing retirement to send a kid to college. they grew up with a fake and tin an america where hard work and responsibility paid off. they believe in a country where everybody does their fair share.

where if you stepped up and did your job and read loyal to your company, it will be rewarded with a decent salary and benefits. maybe a raise once in awhile. he did the right thing, you could make it in america. for decades now, americans have watched that erode. they have seen the decks to often stacked against them. they know washington has not always put their interests first. the people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. the question is whether we will meet ours. the question is whether in the face of an ongoing crisis we can stop the political circuits and do something to help the economy. [applause]

the question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since the beginning. those up here cannot solve all our woes. it will be driven not by washington but by our businesses and workers. we can help. we can make a difference. there are steps we can take right now to improve people's lives. i am sending this congress a plan that you should pass right away. it is called the "american jobs act." there should be nothing

controversial about this legislation. everything in here is a proposal that has been supported by democrats and republicans including many who sit here tonight. everything in this bill will be paid for, everything. [applause] the purpose of the american jobs at a simple, it to put more people back to work and more money in pockets of those who are working. it will create more jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans, and long turerm unemployed. it will provide a tax break for companies to hire new workers and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working american and every small-business.

it will provide a jolt to an economy that is stalled and the company'ies confidence. you should pass this jobs plan right away. [applause] everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs began. while corporate profits have come back, smaller companies have not. for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for job creators, this plan is for you. pass this jobs bill. starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise the wages. pass the jobs bill and all small-business owners will see their payroll taxes cut in half next year. if you have 50 employees making

an average salary, at that is and $80,000 tax cut. all businesses will be able to write off investments they make in 2012. it is not just democrats that support this. 50 house republicans have proposed the same tax cut that is in this plan. you should pass a right away. -- it ritgght away. we can put people back to work rebuilding america. everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the country. our highways are clogged with traffic. our skies are the most congested in the world. it is an outrage. building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower. now we're going to sit back and watch china build faster

airports when unemployed construction workers can build them and in american? [applause] there are private construction companies all across america waiting to get to work. there is a bridge that needs repair near kentucky. it is a public transit project in houston that will help clear when the worst areas of traffic in the country. there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovation. how we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart that this is america. every child deserves a great

school. we can give it to them if we act now. [applause] the american jobs act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. it will put people to work right now fixing windows, installing science labs and high-speed internet incautions across the country. it will rehabilitate homes and businesses hit hardest by foreclosures. it of gems are thousands of transportation projects all across the country. -- it will jump-start thousands of transportation projects all across the country. we are building on projects already in place. no more earmarks. nowhere bridges to know where. we are cutting the red tape that prevents these projects and getting started as quickly as possible.

we will set up an independent fund to issue loans based on two criteria, how badly a construction project is needed and how much good it will do for the economy. [applause] this idea came from a bill written by a texas republican and a massachusetts democrat. the idea for a big boost in construction is supported by america's largest business organization and america's largest labor organization. it is the kind of proposal that has been supported in the past by democrats and republicans alike. your ship has a right away. pass it rightld away. [applause] pass this jobs bill and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. these are the men and women

charge of preparing our children in a world where the competition has never been tougher. while they are added teachers urged adding teachers in places like south korea, we're letting them off. it undermines the kids' futures and hours. it has to stop. put the teacher's back and clashing with they belong. -- in the classroom where they belong. pass this jobs bill and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire american veterans. we ask these people to leave their careers and families and risk their lives to fight for our country. the last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. [applause]

pass this bill and hundreds of thousands of the disadvantaged young people will have the hope and dignity of a summer job next year. their parents, low income americans who want to work, will have more ladders out of poverty. companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who spent more than six months looking for a job. we have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. this builds on a program in georgia the several republican

leaders have highlighted where people participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills as a look for a permanent job. it extends unemployment insurance for another year. it is the millions of unemployed americans of getting this insurance and using it for basic necessities, if it to be a devastating blow for the economy. democrats and republicans have supported this plenty of times in the past. you should pass it again right away. [applause] bill and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax break next year. it will go into your pocket. this expands on the tax cut that democrats and republicans already passed for this year. if we allow it to expire and

refuse to act, middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time. we cannot let that happen. some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle- class taxes. that is why you should pass this bill right away. this is the american jobs act. it will lead to new jobs for construction workers, veterans, first responders, young people, and the long-term unemployed. it will provide tax credits for companies that hire workers, a relief to small business owners and tax cuts to the middle class. the american jobs act would not

enter the deficit. it will pay for. the agreement we passed in july will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10-years. it also charges this congress to come up with an additional $1.50 trillion by savings at christmas. i'm asking you to increase its so it covers the full amount of the american jobs at baird i will be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan that not only cover the cost of this jobs bill but stabilizes our debt in the long run. [applause] this approach is physically the one i have been advocating for months. in addition to the trillions of dollars of spending cuts, it is a plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts, by making modest

adjustments to health care programs, and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the biggest corporations to pay their fair share. [applause] what is more, they would happen so abruptly -- would not happen so abruptly that they would be a drag on the economy. i realize there are some that do not think we should make any changes at all to medicare and medicaid. i understand their concerns. here is the truth. millions of americans rely on medicare in their retirement. millions more will do so in the future. they pay for this benefit during the working years. they earn it. when an aging population and rising health-care costs happen, we're spending too fast to sustain the program. if we do not gradually reform

the system, it will not be there when future retirees need it. we have to reform medicare to strengthen it. [applause] i am also aware that there are many republicans to do not believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can afford it. here is what every american knows. while most people in this country struggled to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets. right now warren buffett pays a lower tax rate than a secretary. it is an outrage he has asked us to fix. we need a tax code where

everyone gets a fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share. [applause] by the way, i believe the vast majority of wealthy americans and ceos are willing to do that if it helps the economy grow and get our fiscal house in order. i have also offered ideas to offer a tax code that stand as a moment to special interest in washington. by eliminating deductions we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. it should not give an advantage to companies that can avoid the best connected lobbyists. they invest and create jobs right here in the united states of america. [applause]

we can reduce this deficit, pay out our dead, and pay for this jobs plan in process. in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. we have to ask ourselves what is the best way to grow the economy and create jobs? should we keep tax loopholes for all companies that should we use that money to give small owner businesses and a company's? should we use that money to give small business owners a tax break decks should we keep them for millionaires and billionaires? should we put teachers back to work so they're ready for college and get good jobs? right now we cannot afford to do both. this is not political

grandstanding. this is not class warfare. this is simple math. this is simple math. these are real choices. these are real choices that we have got to make. i am pretty sure i know what most americans would choose. it is not even close. it is time for us to do what is right for our future. now, the american jobs at answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. we cannot stop there. as i have argued since i ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and build an economy that last into the future. an economy that creates a good, middle-class jobs that pays well and offers security. we live in a world where technology has made possible for companies to take their business anywhere. if we want them to start here

and stay here and higher year, we have to be able to out to build, out educate, out innovate any other country on earth. [applause] this task of making america more competitive for the law is a job for all of us. for government and for private companies. four states and for local communities and for every american citizen. all of us will have to up our game and change the way we do business. my administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own. if you are a small business owner who has a contract to the federal government, we will make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do right now. we are also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too

many rapidly starting companies from raising capital and going public. we're going to work with federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates seven now on their -- at interest rates that are now near 4%. that is a step that can put more than $2,000 a year and a family 's pockets. some things we can do on our own. other steps will require congressional action. today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated patent process. that is the kind of action we need.

now is time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that will make it easier for american companies to sell their products in panama, colombia, and south korea. if americans can buy -- i want to see folks in south korea drive fords and chryslers. i want to see more products sold around the world with the words "made in america." that is what we need to do. all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for ways to work with america's

business. that is why i brought together leaders from different interests and entities who are developing ideas to grow and create jobs. we have mobilized leaders to train 10,000 american engineers a year by providing company internship's and training. other businesses are covering tuitions for workers to learn skills and community colleges and we will make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes place not in china, europe, but right here in the united states of america. if we provide the right incentives, the right support, and if we make sure our partners play by the rules, we can be the ones to build everything from fuel efficient cars to a fenced biofuels the semiconductors that

we sell all around the world. that is how america can be number one again, and that is how america will be number one again. i realize some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy. some of you believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most government regulations. i agree we cannot afford wasteful spending and i will work with you, with congress, to root it out, and i agree there are rules and regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least support -- afford it.

that is why i ordered a review of all government regulations. so far we have identified over 500 reforms which will save billions of dollars over the next few years. we should have no more regulations than the health, safety, and security of the american people require. thattrule should need common-sense requirement. i will not let the economic crisis be used to wipe out the basics protections that americans have counted on for decades. i reject the idea we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety.

i reject the argument that says for the economy to grow we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or keep our kids from mercury. i reject the idea that we have to surfeit collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. we should not be in a race to the bottom. america should be in a race the top, and i believe we can win that race. in fact this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is

dismantle government, tell everybody they are on their own, that is not who we are. that is not the story of america. yes, we are rugged individuals. yes, we are strong and self- reliant, and it has been the drive and initiative of our workers that has made this economy the engine and the envy of the world. there has always been another thread running throughout our history, a belief that we are all connected, and that there is some things we can only do to get there as a nation. we remember abraham lincoln as a leader who said -- of the republican party, but in the middle of a civil war, he was also a leader who looked to the future, a republican president who mobilized government to build the transcontinental railroad, launched the national academy of sciences, set up the

first land grant college, and leaders of both partners have followed the example he set. ask yourselves, where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, dams, airports? what would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public schools or research universities or community colleges? millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the gi bill. where would we be if they have not had that chance? how many jobs would have cost them, if passed, this is decided

not to support basic research that led to the internet and computer chips? what kind of country with this be, if this chamber and voted down social security or medicare because it violated a rigid idea about what government could or could not do? how many americans would have suffered as a result? no single individual built america on their own. we built it together. we have been and always will be one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another. and, members of congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities.

every proposal i have laid out tonight is the kind that has been supported by democrats and republicans in the past. every proposal i have laid out tonight will be paid for, and every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities. i know there has been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan or any jobs planned. already we are seeing the same old press release is flying back and forth, and already the media has proclaimed it is impossible to bridge our differences. maybe some of you have decided those differences are so great we can only resolve them at the ballot box. know this -- the next election is 14 months away and the people who sent us here, the people who hired us to work for them, they

do not have the luxury of waiting 14 months. some of them are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, even state today. they need help, and they need it now. i do not pretend this plan will solve all our problems. it should not be, nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose. what has guided us from the start in this crisis has not been the search for a silver bullets. it has been a commitment to stay at it, to be persistent, to keep trying every new idea that works and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it.

regardless of the arguments we have had in the past, regardless of the arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. you should pass it, and i intend to take that message to every corner of this country. and i ask every american who agrees to eat with your voice, tell the people who are gathered -- to lift your voice, to remind us that if we act as one nation and the people we have within our power to meet this challenge. our problems are man-made, therefore, they can be solved by manfred mann can be as -- by man.

is it that a deal -- this is a difficult year for our country, so let's get to work, and let's show the world once again why the united states remains the greatest nation on earth. thank you very much. god bless you. god bless the united states of america.

>> the chair declared

>> with that, the house adjourning. adjourning. if you're out of work, the phone number. a quick reminder about the content of the speech, available online. the package, totaling $447 billion, it will include $240 billion in a payroll tax cut, also, a tax holiday for any company hiring new workers and an additional incentive for workers who are unemployed. $140 billion in infrastructure

spending, and $62 billion in long-term unemployment assistance. on to your phone calls now, what do you think of the remarks tonight? >> what my problem is, we all know that the post office those $19 billion of $55 billion, which comes to $74 billion. his speech talks about not saving the post office at all. this is like a war spending bill where we owe so many -- more spending . it is a dangerous figure. i think we need to know more. he did not say many details, and we have to look through this thing, but for the most part it looks like war spending. >> a viewer from indiana. good evening to you.

>> thank you. i liked the president's speech. it provides a lot of different incentives for creating jobs, puts more teachers back to work. in indiana, with our budget crisis we had a couple years ago, had to cut somewhere. i wanted to see what the house will do with it. the republicans control that chamber right now. will they take up this plan, or how well they do it, and handed over to the senate, where i still believe there is some moderates there, especially republicans from maine, and hopefully they can get this passed. people are looking for something to get this coming up and running again. and running again. i liked the president's speech . >> nancy pelosi urge her democratic colleagues to push

the committee chairs to move ahead with hearings on the proposals put forth of by the present. the president will travel to richmond tomorrow, part of the congressional district of eric cantor, and tuesday the president will travel to columbus, ohio, the back yard of the speaker of the house. an unemployed worker from kansas. good evening. >> good evening. thank you for taking my call. >> how long have you been out of a job? >> i have been out of a job more >> i have been out of a job more than a year dropped -- now. it is because of this president's administration that i was left without a job, because i work for a federal contractor for about 10 years, and god bless my management, they tried everything possible to let us continue working, but this president's administration

told my management no. we got our pink slips the day after tax day, it was in april. >> have you had any job interviews, any prospects? >> i have had interviews, steve, but i have also had to do readjustments and go back to school, pursuing and medical administration. >> thank you for that call. 14 million officially unemployed. the rate holding steady at 9.1%, and the associated press reporting for every job opening there are four unemployed workers. good evening. >> thank you for taking my call. i have two ideas. as the president proposed -- in

some countries -- creating a national lottery, where on like a true love the account -- a true lottery, you get extra tax exemptions on your income tax. the second idea, as anyone in congress proposed educating small businesses on how to create their own jobs in their own -- let's do it locally. let's not expect the government to do the job. let's take upon ourselves to new -- to do it, and generates jobs locally. i saw a bunch of kids picking up cans and bottles, they made $400 a day doing this. these are good ideas. it needs to be addressed. it needs to be proposed, and has anyone done this in congress yet? >> thank you for your call. if you want to get reaction,

members of the house and senate are in statuary hall, and you can watch this interviews, live coverage at c-span.org, and this is the scene as members leave the hall. the president's speech running, 35 minutes. ray is joining us from texas. >> how are you doing today? did i not see the supreme court there? >> i did not see any members of the supreme court. >> that is all i needed the nto know. thank you. >> i agree with the present set about taxing the rich and leaving the blue collar people alone. we pay more taxes than any ybody, and i agree we need to

tax the rich more than the working class. working class. >> tomorrow, a republican from kansas will be joining us to give us their perspective on tonight's speech. we will check in with the white house deputy press secretary, house deputy press secretary, "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. how long have you been out of work? >> since 2008. >> what did you do before you were laid off? >> i worked at verizon wireless, a company 14 years. will this be to make a difference? do you think his plan will work? >> i think so, but we need to he abandonedlike us in 1999. he did this for all the

unemployment people, but what about the 99-ers? >> we go next to spokane, washington. what do you think about the president's speech tonight? >> i think it is a good speech and i think his proposals are great. i think we need to get serious and get to work on it. immediately. >> stacey joining us from bangor, pennsylvania. >> hi. i was encouraged by the president's speech. i intend to email might republican representatives and ask them to support it because i was concerned about several times he was making comments, there was one whole session refusing to stand up and they were chanting something. i am concerned about that. there does not sound like they have a consensus of those supporting this.

i am concerned about business is getting a $4,000 tax break, because i am also unemployed, and if i could to get a job, how long are they going to keep me there, just to get the $4,000 and then lay me off again? i am concerned about these things. >> their proposal you heard tonight that you especially like? >> i like the one with the free trade agreements. that is encouraging because there are over 580,000 manufacturing companies that have disappeared from the united states. do the math. there is a lot of numbers of people who are manufacturing people, people who make packages. >> would you vote for the republican in 2012? >> i cannot have any favorites in the gop field. mr. boehner is the one i would like to vote out of office. he is not my favorite. >> and you are not a republican? >> nascar i am.

-- yes, i am. >> how long have you been out of work? >> since 2008. >> well the president's speech tonight make a difference? his plan will make a difference? >> i do not think we are included there. i do not know if we are included. >> we ask that you turn your volume down. a note about some republicans who decided to opt out of the speech tonight, including senator jim demint of south carolina. also senator david victor. he said he is hosting a party

for the new orleans saints. and freshman senator joe walsh who said he would not be a prop at the speech. this is the fifth time the president has delivered a speech at a joint session of congress. betty is joining us from kentucky. what do you think about what you heard tonight? >> i think that congress should quit playing games. they're getting bigger wages, and they'd get all these tax breaks and all the rich people of the world. i am just a middle-class social security part-time worker, trying to make a living. i think the president is on the right trail. if they start worrying about the rest of us and stop -- >> yes, i am calling in response

to the overall speech this evening. i want to make a couple of comments. i felt overall that when i hear already on your news, talking about republicans were not responding in certain ways, i heard something about snickering -- i listened to the whole thing, and i did not hear that. i feel like the news making issue over something i did not feel was obvious to the american people watching is somewhat biased in reporting. i just want to state that i've watched and i did not think that was clear. have noticed that in the past times, but not for this evening speech. what i do want to say about the speech is that, although it is a speech is that, although it is a minor