Live: President Obama's State of the Union 01/20/2015
President Barack Obama delivers the sixth State of the Union address of his tenure Tuesday night from the Capitol in Washington, beginning at 9 p.m. EST. Follow U.S. News' live blog for what to expect from the speech, plus up-to-the-minute updates, analysis, reaction and more.
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How much emphasis is Obama going to put on veterans tonight? Check out some of the top concerns advocacy groups hope he addresses:
Fire and Forget: The Biggest Problem Veterans Still Face -
Everyone visit the Obama library years from now, pull all the reporter emails on the tan suit tweet and then decide whether to laugh or cryby pfeiffer44 via twitter 1/21/2015 1:35:37 AM -
We know Pres Obama will likely mention a wounded vet at #SOTU tonight. The real question is will he focus on policy to help that vet? #IAVA
— Paul (PJ) Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) January 21, 2015 -
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George Washington is waiting for #SOTU to start here at the Capitol, watching everyone head inside. http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B71cgV4CQAA5B-B.jpg
by Tom Risen via twitter 1/21/2015 1:31:13 AM -
As President Obama promotes his new Cuba policy, administration officials are stressing that the U.S. will have more influence over the island when relations are normalized. They say the U.S. can be a more effective voice for democracy and a robust civil society if Cuba is no longer isolated and citizens have access to the outside world. Those who oppose the policy say the U.S. is rewarding the Castro regime's human rights abuses. Cuba, meanwhile, appears to be attempting to lower expectations before a U.S. delegation begins talks with Cuban officials Wednesday in Havana. Read more: ow.ly -
The president has said he would veto any bill from Republicans that threatens to pull apart Obamacare, and some GOP members are going after the Affordable Care Act's definition of a workweek. Under Obamacare, the traditional 40-hour workweek was shortened to 30, meaning anyone who works that amount must be offered health insurance coverage by an employer. Not surprisingly, employers across the nation support a 40-hour workweek definition, while unions oppose it. Read more about the full debate. -
Counting down to the State of the Union? Try your hand at some SOTU trivia, like which president started the tradition of having a hero sit in the first lady's viewing box? Get that answer (Hint: We may have given it away) and more here.
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More economic complexities:While job opportunities are growing, ratings still aren't at pre-recession levels.
Americans say they are falling behind on cost of living.
Although both Republicans and Democrats agree that inequality has grown, agreeing on what to do about it is a different story.
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In Obama's speech, he'll tout progress that includes "a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry and booming energy production." In the rebuttal by Sen. Joni Ernst, she'll emphasize the other economic side: "We see our neighbors agonize over stagnant wages and lost jobs ... Americans have been hurting."So, who is right?Per usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. A growing number of Americans think the economy is doing well.
But, it's still a top issue for many.
But wages aren't really growing.
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Along with the economy, Obama's job rating has gone up recently. He'll likely reference the changes as fodder against the Republican-controlled Congress, which has voiced concern about Obama's willingness to use executive action to achieve his remaining policy goals.
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Obama's planned remarks on cybersecurity:
“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids. We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.”
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Obama's planned remarks on the fight against the Islamic State group:
"“In Iraq and Syria, American leadership – including our military power – is stopping ISIL’s advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism. This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.” -
Excerpt from Obama's 2015 State of the Union:"We are 15 years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.But tonight, we turn the page."
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"Defiant in the face of the new Republican majority, President Barack Obama will press Congress Tuesday night to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, then funnel the revenue into tax cuts for others and programs to make community college and child care more affordable." Read more.
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Obama will likely speak a few minutes over an hour.
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Among the guests sitting with first lady Michelle Obama tonight will be Alan Gross and his wife, Judy. Alan was imprisoned in Cuba for five years before he was released on humanitarian grounds last month. His release was a part of the opening of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, which had no official ties for more than 50 years.
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Pick any two presidents to compare the most distinct words used in their State of the Union addresses with this tool.
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Tonight, we'll likely hear echoes of proposals Obama has made in past State of the Union addresses that he hasn't delivered on, such as tax and energy reform goals. Check out all his past proposals and see which ones he has completed in this WSJ graphic
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Will there be an 'Oh My!' moment in the State of the Union this year? Here are five things to watch for during the speech tonight.
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How many times do you think Obama will say "middle class" in tonight's speech? How about "health care" or "education"? Use a tool from National Journal to submit your predictions before the speech and see how you do.
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During her 2014 campaign for U.S. Senate in Iowa, Joni Ernst released one of the country's most memorable videos, in which she not only said she would make politicians squeal like the hogs on the farm where she grew up, but also that she would work to repeal Obamacare.
Ernst, who has now been in office only a few weeks, is set to deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech tonight. It’s likely, however, that her message about the Affordable Care Act this time will take more of a “repeal and replace” approach – which seems to be favored among congressional Republicans, particularly given the high number of people who have signed up for insurance under the law during the second year of open enrollment.
Though Ernst has not publicly released information about what she might say, a GOP address from July 2014 offers some clues:
“We believe Obamacare is not improving health care in America, but making it worse. We need, and must demand, more individual control over our health care decisions, not less. Parents and doctors know what’s best when it comes to the health of their child, not the government. We need to start over and create real, meaningful health care reform that allows us Americans to choose the plans they want, the doctors they need, at a cost they can afford.”by Kimberly Leonard via YouTube edited by U.S. News & World Report 1/20/2015 11:02:33 PM -
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President Obama begins his seventh year in office Tuesday facing a Congress where both the House and Senate are in the hands of the opposition party. He shares this in common with every other president fortunate enough to even have a seventh year in office since the 1950s.
... from NPR -
Will President Obama talk about war tonight? #SOTU (He kind of has to, right?) ow.ly/HEzamby U.S. News via twitter 1/20/2015 10:21:33 PM -
So even if you care nothing about the speech: DRINKING GAME.
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Obama can blame more than just disinterest for falling State of the Union ratings. (We're looking at you, cord-cutters.) http://ow.ly/HF18z
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Get smart on France's war footing following the Charlie Hebdo Paris attacks:
France, U.S. Draw Clear Lines from Paris to ISIS, al-Qaida
Will Obama follow up with similar rhetoric tonight? -
President Francois Hollande aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. (SIPA/AP)
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Tonight the president will propose formal sick, maternity and paternity leave, which could assist caregivers and new parents. Obama to Promote Sick, Family Leave
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Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., center, joined by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., left, and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., holds a press conference hours before the president's State of the Union Monday about the Keystone XL Pipeline bill, which is being debated in the Republican-controlled Senate despite President Obama's threat to veto it. See a gallery of the Keystone XL Pipeline's journey.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP) -
Tonight, some lucky government official will be missing from the State of the Union crowd.
Flanked by security worthy of a president and an aide carrying the codes needed to destroy the world, this person will head to an undisclosed location during President Barack Obama's speech. In the event of a fatal attack on Obama and other top government officials, this person would become president.
Although the tradition of the "designated survivor" started with the Cold War, it's become more serious since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Here's a timeline showing the officials who held the role in the past.
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Care about your Internet speed? Then you'll probably care about the speech tonight. Here's why.
(Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) -
Of 22 guests seated in the first lady’s box tonight, six were selected to epitomize the president’s health care agenda. They include:
- Bill Elder, a cystic fibrosis patient who speaks to “the promise of precision medicine,” a kind of research Obama hopes to expand.
- Victor Fugate, a health care worker who found health insurance on the exchange after he was laid off.
- Nicole Hernandez Hammer, a researcher and mobilizer addressing how climate change disproportionately affects the health of the Latino community.
- Larry Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Caremark, which became the first major retail pharmacy to do away with tobacco sales.
- Astrid Muhammed, a wife and mom who was able to enroll in health insurance through the marketplace despite a brain tumor diagnosis. Fully covered by insurance, she received a surgery to remove the tumor.
- Dr. Pranav Shetty, global emergency health coordinator for the International Medical Corps, who helped establish and run Ebola treatment and training centers in Liberia. -
Days after NASA confirmed 2014 was Earth’s hottest year on record, a leading climate scientist will sit with first lady Michelle Obama for the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Read more on what to expect from Obama on climate change and the energy industry.
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(Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)
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Create Your Own State of the Union AddressThe Sunlight Foundation created a tool using language modeling that allows users to generate a random State of the Union address based on speeches by past presidents. Use sliders to indicate how much language you want from each president.
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Gallup has released a poll comparing American sentiments in January 2008, around the lead-up to the last State of the Union before Barack Obama was elected president, to those this year. The poll shows American opinion has changed the most in the last seven years in the area of race relations. In 2008, 55 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with race relations, compared to 30 percent today.
The drop is likely driven by the recent outrage over the deaths of unarmed African-Americans – specifically Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Michael Brown – at the hands of law enforcement, and that anger has evolved into a larger conversation about the role of racial bias in policing. While no members of Brown's family nor the families of other African-Americans involved in high-profile, police-involved deaths are listed among the president's guests for the evening despite calls from the Congressional Black Caucus to invite them, the issue of policing tactics is still expected to come up tonight. Additionally, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Phillip C. Tingirides, who leads an effort to improve community-cop relations, and his wife will be in attendance as guests of the first lady. -
Who's attending the SOTU tonight as guests of the White House? Former Cuban prisoner Alan Gross and eight lucky letter writers.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
