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The 2011 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, on January 25, 2011, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
to the
112th United States Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
. It was Obama's second
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
and his third speech to a
joint session of the United States Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on a ...
. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the
vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
, in his capacity as the president of the Senate. It was the first address to a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
-controlled Congress since 2006. It was also the first to be simulcast online as an "enhanced version" featuring accompanying graphics for key points of the address, a style which would be replicated throughout Obama's future State of the Union addresses. In this joint session Obama outlined his “vision for an America that’s more determined, more competitive, better positioned for the future—an America where we out-innovate, we out-educate, we out-build the rest of the world; where we take responsibility for our deficits; where we reform our government to meet the demands of a new age.”


Disposition, seating, and attendance

As always, the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Joe Biden (as Senate President) and House Speaker John Boehner sat behind the president. This is the first time a Republican has sat behind President Obama during a
joint session of Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on ...
. In light of the
2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including feder ...
of Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
and others, the Washington
Third Way think tank Third Way is a Washington, D.C.–based public policy think tank founded in 2005. Third Way develops and advocates for policies that it claims represent "modern center-left ideas". Third Way was honoured as the 2013 North American Think Tan ...
sent a letter to Congressional leadership proposing members of Congress abandon a 96-year-long tradition of sitting with their party and instead sit together in a show of national unity. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado picked up Third Way's proposal and sent a letter to Congressional members urging them to sit together regardless of party, breaking with tradition. Sixty members of the House and Senate signaled their support for the plan, and members of both houses sat with members of the opposite party. Groups included Arizona's House delegation of five Republicans and two Democrats (with an empty chair for Giffords), past presidential candidates
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
and John McCain, and campaign leaders
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...
and
Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...
. Legislators wore black-and-white ribbons in honor of the victims of the shooting. After visibly reacting to President Obama's criticism during the 2010 State of the Union of the ''
Citizens United Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
'' decision, Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and
Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...
did not attend the speech. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar served as the designated survivor and did not attend the speech.


Summary

According to a White House fact sheet published by NMD Newswire US-President Obama underscored in his 2011 State of the Union Address "the need to maintain America’s leadership in a rapidly changing world so that our economy is competitive – growing and working for all Americans." In order to achieve this Obama outlined "a plan to help the United States win the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competition. At the same time, the President understands the need to reform the way our government does business and take responsibility for our deficit - by investing in what makes America stronger and cutting what doesn't."


Revenue/savings

* A five-year freeze in domestic spending projected to save $400 billion over the next decade. * Elimination of billions in tax breaks for oil companies. The president has previously sought to bring in more than $36 billion over the next decade through tax increases on oil and gas companies, but so far has been unable to win congressional support. * Reductions in
health care costs Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiz ...
, including Medicare and
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
. Obama said he's willing to consider
medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...
reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
to "rein in frivolous lawsuits" and presumably drive down health care costs to the government in return. Though that proposal so far has not moved far beyond talking points, the
Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...
and Joint Committee on Taxation in 2009 estimated that tort reform could reduce federal government health care costs by $41 billion over 10 years. * Reform for Social Security. Obama did not offer specifics. * Ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans once the latest extension expires in two years. Before the rate was extended, the Obama administration estimated it would cost $700 billion over the next decade. * A proposal to "merge, consolidate and reorganize the federal government." Obama said he will submit that proposal to Congress "in the coming months." * A ban on congressional earmarks. * A proposal to lower the corporate tax rate. Obama pitched this as part of a broader effort to simplify the tax code—he pledged the changes would not add to the deficit


Expenses

* Pledge to provide 80 percent of Americans with high-speed rail access in 25 years. * Pledge to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. * Pledge to have 80 percent of the country's electricity come from clean-energy sources by 2035. * New investment in biomedical research,
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...
and clean-energy technology. * A continuation of the $4.35 billion
Race to the Top Race to the Top (R2T, RTTT or RTT) was a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competitive grant created to spur and reward innovation and reforms in state and local district K–12 education. Funded as part of the American Recovery ...
incentive program offering competitive federal grants to local school systems.
Bruce Randolph School Bruce Randolph School is a public school in Denver, Colorado, United States. It serves grades six through twelve. Part of Denver Public Schools, Bruce Randolph began to operate autonomously in 2007 in a bid to turn around its dismal graduation r ...
was mentioned as a success. * A call to "redouble" efforts to repair America's aging roads and bridges. * A call to make a $10,000 tuition tax credit permanent.


Other topics and goals

* A challenge to pursue innovation in "our generations' Sputnik moment." * Replace
No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...
with another form of education reform. A good amount of time was directed towards education during the address. * The President announced that he will be taking a trip to
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and El Salvador in the spring, to sign trade deals, which will help create tens of thousands of new jobs. * Remain committed to the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
, the
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
, and on pressuring regimes like
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, which is pursuing nuclear weapons, and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
, which has nuclear weapons. * Continue alliance with the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and Japan.


Response

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Chair of the
House Budget Committee The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...
, gave the Republican response afterward. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Chair of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...
, gave a Spanish version of the response. Rep.
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
of Minnesota gave an address in response to Obama's speech on behalf of the Tea Party Express. Some Republicans opposed Bachmann's decision, worrying she would draw attention away from Ryan. Bachmann was refused access to the Capitol Hill Club to make her speech, forcing her to give the speech from the National Press Club. Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio gave a mixed review of Obama's speech, saying, "While I was encouraged by the President's support for an earmark ban and will work with him towards that goal, his call for a mere budget freeze does not go far enough in tackling our record debt. At the very least, we should freeze non-defense and non-veterans discretionary spending to what it was before Washington began its unprecedented, record-setting spending binge two years ago. But most importantly, we need to finally begin fundamentally reforming the way our government spends the American people's money." Democratic Senator
Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
, also of Florida, praised Obama for "bringing us out of recession with jobs, helping small business, helping seniors with retirement security, getting government spending under control. Then he talked about civility. How do we treat each other? That’s going to matter a lot." Florida Governor Rick Scott strongly criticized Obama's speech while New York Senators
Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
and
Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...
praised his economic agenda. Leaders of several smaller political parties also gave prepared responses to the speech. The Libertarian Party's response was delivered by Executive Director
Wes Benedict Wes or WES may refer to: * Westmorland, county in England, Chapman code __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Wes (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Wes Madiko (1964–2021), Cameroonian musi ...
. Billy Wharton, co-chair of the
Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
, released a response through his party's website. Sam Webb, chairman of the Communist Party USA, released a response through the party's main website.


References


External links


Video of the address; C-Span
(Official)
2011 State of the Union Address: Enhanced Version


via FastFedora.com

via MMDNewsWire.com


2011 State of the Union Response (transcript)


Opposition responses

* Republican Party response
Video of Representative Paul Ryans' response
* Tea Party Movement response
Text of Michele Bachmann's response
* Libertarian Party response
Video and text of Wes Benedict's response
* Socialist Party response

{{Portal bar, Modern history, United States, Politics State of the Union Address 2011
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
Presidency of Barack Obama State of the Union Address 2011 2011 State of the Union Address, 2011 Articles containing video clips