this is an nbc news special report. a presidential address to congress. live from washington, here is brian williams. >> actually thunder and lightning on capitol hill as we have been in the grips here in washington of some awful weather, of course that forms part of the backdrop for tonight's speech by president obama to a joint session of congress. with our politics in such rough shape these days, as you may know, there was actually a fight

over when and where this speech would be delivered and scheduling it and they have arrived at this compromise, hard against tonight's nfl game of course. but most members of the house and senate are in the chamber tonight. and while the speech is about the economy and jobs and while we're fresh from covering the gop debate last night in california, here we are days away from the 10th anniversary of 9/11, in really a new country in terms of homeland security, just the use of that phrase, say nothing of the cabinet level department, the new reality, we all got used to after that awful day in 2001 and it has reared its head again, just as we were going off the air for nbc "nightly news" tonight, and as we come on the air for this special tonight. there is a homeland security issue that has arizin, big

enough for the -- he's been briefed on it. our justice correspondent pete williams has been reporting on this. he's with us as part of our coverage tonight. pete, what do we know about this and what best to call it? >> well, i think it's best to call it unconfirmed, it's a specific piece of intelligence information that the united states has picked up within the last several hours, specific enough that it got their attention, it rose above the normal kind of chatter that they hear running up to something like this. it's specific but unconfirmed, there are questions that are internally contradictory in it and just out, the department of homeland security describes it as specific and credible but unconfirmed and they also say in this statement that often times these things come along and then as they do further checking, they wash out. so there's a note of, i guess

some skepticism even from the government itself. what they're probably going to do, take this information, pass it along to local law enforcement, that's been their pattern for the past several days, anything that they get, they're basically passing along at this point. but it doesn't sound at least at this point that they will use the new terror threat system that's just been set up by the department of homeland security. if they did do that, it would be different from the old color coded days, it would be very specific and tell us what we're supposed to do. >> perhaps folks who aren't that interested in the speech but are waiting for the game asking that question that we're now used to after ten years of this, what am i supposed to do? how is this supposed to change the way i act? and of course, there's a lot more we need to learn about this. >> right and we do know the threat is directed against new york and washington, but specifically beyond that, what we don't know yet. and we may never know. i mean these things come up, there was one before the inauguration of president obama had everybody in town very

concerned and ultimately nothing came of that either. so they're really scrubbing this tonight and trying to figure out what to do. >> we found reference and kind of aspirational plans when they raided the bin laden compound, looking at this next big anniversary and things he had on his mind, but no evidence it was more than that. >> and that is the frame through which all this is being viewed, because of the fact that obama expressed some desire to have some kind of an attack around iconic events like this 9/11 anniversary, that's what got everybody's antenna up in the first place. >> we're on a stand by for the president to enter the chamber and chuck todd is standing by at the white house tonight, chuck, what can you add to this discussion before we turn the corner into the reason and purpose for the speech tonight? >> well, brian, look, what i have been told it's simply, yes the president has been briefed, you've got john brennan who's dealing with this, but that all statements and all public alerts are going to come through the

department of homeland security, and right on clock work, there was some discussion that it would be issued after the speech, none of that and it's all in the hands of dhs at this point, brian. >> and as we await the president entering the chamber, we should turn to the topic in chief tonight. that is with our politics so badly broken, here's the backdrop as the gavel comes down and -- >> the president of the united states.

>> so chuck, talk to us about the president's motivation, what he plans to say, what he hopes to get out of it? >> reporter: the white house knows this is a now or never moment, they're in about a 2 1/2 month window what one administration official sort of reluctantly admitted where they can still govern, they believe, so the motivation of this speech, the proposal he's going to spend the congress next week, he already called speaker boehner, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, the american jobs act, everything he'll be outlining tonight, putting it in bill form and sending it to congress next week. but the purpose of the speech is to raise the level of awareness of the american people that he's trying to do this and it forces the congress to work with him or force them to show that they won't work with them.

and suddenly instead of in being a jobs speech and an agenda call, it turns quickly to the start of the election campaign. >> moderator of "meet the press" david gregory is here in the studio with us. and it reminds us of just how man handled the president gets walk down the aisle. but you've covered the white house among other things, think of the burdens of office, this president, the predecessor, any president, think of what he's just been briefed on. he now has to talk about the economy, the stakes just could been higher. >> they're huge and pete's reporting only underlines what we have spent the last decade dealing with and reporting on, which was the reality that the country faces that there is potential for additional attacks and a question of vigilance. the country is perhaps facing a double dip recession, people are not spending, people are saving instead. and you have a financial crisis

in europe that mirrors what we faced in the united states. there's a big leadership moment now essentially saying government must do something to try to instill confidence and assert leadership. that's what people are angry about. >> the president has told friends, as we just saw him shaking the hands of his vice president and speaker john boehner that his relationship with the house speaker is quite good, it's some of the others that he's had trouble with as well documented recently. again tonight, we'll have little bit of a different feel, it will be a shorter speech than most we have seen to a joint session of congress. we're going to get underway about ten minutes after the hour.

>> members of congress, i have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you. >> thank you so much. everyone please have a seat. thank you. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, and fellow americans. tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. we continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless and a political crisis that's made things worse.

this past week, reporters have been asking what will this speech mean for the president? what will it mean for congress? how will it affect their polls in the next election? but the millions of americans who are watching right now, they don't care about politics. they have real life concerns. and they have spent months looking for work. others are doing their best just to scrape by, giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage, postponing retirement to send a kid to college. these men and women grew up with faith in an america where hard work and responsibility paid off. they believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share. where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your

company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits. maybe a raise once in a while. if you did the right thing, you could make it, anybody could make it in america. for decades now, americans have watched that compact erode. they have seen the decks too often stacked against them and they know that washington has not always put their interests first. the people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. the question tonight is whether we'll meet ours, the question is whether in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually 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 our beginning. those of us here tonight can't solve all our nation's woes. ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by washington, but by our businesses and our workers. but 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's called the american jobs act. there should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been

supported by both democrats and republicans.1wñ including many who sit here tonight. and everything in this bill will be paid for, everything. [ applause ] the purpose of the american jobs act is simple. to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. it will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans and more jobs for long-term unemployed. [ applause ] it will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working american and every small business. [ applause ] it will provide a jolt to an economy that is stalled. and give companies confidence

that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and services. you should pass this jobs plan right away. [ applause ] everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. and you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven't. so for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for job creators, this plan's for you. pass this jobs bill. pass this jobs bill and starting tomorrow, business also get a pass this jobs bill and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half this year. if you have 50 employees making an average salary, that's an $80,000 tax cut.

and all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012. it's not just democrat who is have supported this kind of proposal. 50 house republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cuts that's in this plan. you should pass it right away. [ applause ] pass this jobs bill and we can put people 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's an outrage. building a world class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower and now we're going to sit back and watch china build newer airports and faster railroads at a time when millions of unemployed

construction workers could build them right here in america? [ applause ] there are private construction companies all across america just waiting to get to work. there's a bridge that needs repair between ohio and kentucky that's on one of the busiest trucking routes in north america. a public transit system in houston that will help clear up one of the worst traffic in the country. and there are schools around this country that desperately need renovating. how can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? this is america. every child deserves a great school and 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 roofs and windows, installing science labs and high speed internet in classrooms all across this country. it will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosurforeclosur. and to make sure the money is properly spent, we're building on reforms we have already put in place. no more earmarks. no more boondoggles. no more bridges to nowhere. we're cutting the red tape that prevents some of those projects from getting started as quickly as possible and we'll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and 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 ra 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's the kind of proposal that's been supported in the past by democrats and republicans alike. you should pass it right away. [ applause ] pass this jobs bill and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. these are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the

competition has never been tougher. but while they're adding teachers in places like south korea, we're laying them off in droves. it's unfair to our kids, it undermines their future and ours and it has to stop. pass this bill and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong. [ applause ] pass this jobs bill and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire america's best. we asked these men and women to leave their careers, leave their 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 disadvantaged young people will have the hope and the dignity of a summer job next year. and their parents, their parents, low income americans who desperately want to work will have more ladders out of poverty. pass this jobs bill and company also get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. [ applause ] we -- we have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. this jobs plan builds on a program in georgia that several republican leaders have highlighted where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in temporary work as

a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent job. the plan also extends unemployment for another year. if the millions of unemployed americans stop getting insurance, it will be a devastating blow to the economy. democrats and republicans in this chamber have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past and in this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again, right away. [ applause ] pass this jobs bill. and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut next year. $1,500. that would have been taken out of your pockets will go into your pocket. this expands on the tax cut the democrats and republicans already passed for this year. if we allow that tax cut to expire, if we refuse to act, middle class families will get hit with a tax increase at the

worst possible time. we can't let that happen. i know that 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 which is why how you would pass this bill right away. [ applause ] this is the american jobs act. it will lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people and the long-term unemployed. it will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief to small business owners and tax cuts to the middle class. and here's the other thing i want the american people to know, the american jobs act will not add to the deficit, it will be paid for and here's how.

the agreement we passed in july will cut government spending by about a trillion dollars over the next ten years. it also charges this congress to come up with an additional 1$1. trillion in savings by christmas. tonight i am asking you to increase that amount so it covers the full cost of the american jobs act and a week from monday i will be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan, a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in long run. [ applause ] this approach is basically the one i have been advocating for months. in addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts i have already signed into law, it's a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts, by making modest adjustments to health care programs like medicare and medicaid and by reforming our

tax code in a way that asks the wealthest american es wealthiest americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. what's more the spending cuts wouldn't happen so abruptly that they would be a drag on our economy or prevent us from helping middle class families and small businesses get back on their neat rigfeet right away. i know there's members -- millions of americans rely on medicare in their retirement. millions more will do so in the future. they pay for this benefit during their working years, they earn it. but when an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program and if we don't gradu gradually reform the system while protecting futuren

beneficiaries, i won't be there when they need it. we have to reform medicare to strengthen it. i'm also -- [ applause ] i'm also well aware that there are many republicans that don't believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it. but here's what every american knows. while most people in this country struggle 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. 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 ]

and by the way, i believe the vast majority of wealthy americans and ceos are willing to do just that if it helps our economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order. i'll also offer ideas that gets our corporate tax code to stand as a monument to special interests in washington. by eliminating pages of loopholes an reductions we can lower one of the highest tax codes in the world. our tax code should not give advantages to companies that can afford the best lobby estes, it should give advantages to the companies that create jobs right here in the united states of america. [ applause ]

so we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan in the process. but in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. we have to ask ourselves, what's the best way to grow the economy and create jobs? should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? because we can't afford to do both. should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? [ applause ] right now, we can't afford to do both. this isn't political grandstanding, this isn't class warfare. this is simple math.

this is simple math. these are real choices. these are real choices that we have got to make and i'm pretty sure i know what most americans would choose, it's not even close and it's time for us to do what's right for our future. [ applause ] now, the american jobs act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. but we can't stop there. i have argued since i ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts into the future. an economy that creates good, middle class jobs that pay well and offer security. we now live in a world where technology has made it possible for companies to take their business anywhere. if we want them to start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to outbuild and

outeducate and outinnovate every other country on earth. [ applause ] and this task of making america more competitive for the long haul, that's a job for all of us. for government and for private companies. for states and for local communities. and for every american citizen. all of us will have to up our game. all of us will have to change the way we do business. my administration can and will take some steps to prove our competitiveness on our own. for example, if you're a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we're going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do right now. [ applause ] we're also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly growing startup companies from raising capital and going public