'We Are Not Quitters'

Remarks of US President Barack Obama – Address to Joint Session ofCongress

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the FirstLady of the United States:

I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that oureconomy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the collegeacceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. Theyexist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and ourfactories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride ofthe hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have madeAmerica the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human historywe still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for thiscountry to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, andtake responsibility for our future once more.

Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that for too long, wehave not always met these responsibilities – as a government or as apeople. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because itis only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we’ll beable to lift ourselves out of this predicament.

The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor didall of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or thestock market sank. We have known for decades that our survivaldepends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oiltoday than ever before. The cost of health care eats up more and moreof our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our childrenwill compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schoolsdo not prepare them for. And though all these challenges wentunsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt,both as individuals and through our government, than ever before.

In other words, we have lived through an era where too often,short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where wefailed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the nextelection. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to thewealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expenseof a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’tafford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. Andall the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put offfor some other time on some other day.

Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge ofour future is here.

Now is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive thiseconomy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now isthe time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest inareas like energy, health care, and education that will grow oureconomy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. Thatis what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that’s what I’d liketo talk to you about tonight.

It’s an agenda that begins with jobs.

As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recoveryplan by President’s Day that would put people back to work and putmoney in their pockets. Not because I believe in bigger government –I don’t. Not because I’m not mindful of the massive debt we’veinherited – I am. I called for action because the failure to do sowould have cost more jobs and caused more hardships. In fact, afailure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuringweak economic growth for years. That’s why I pushed for quick action. And tonight, I am grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleasedto say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.

Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 millionjobs. More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector –jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines andsolar panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.

Because of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobsand educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caringfor our sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on thestreets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffstheir department was about to make.

Because of this plan, 95% of the working households in America willreceive a tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecksbeginning on April 1st.

Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costswill receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. AndAmericans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able toreceive extended unemployment benefits and continued health carecoverage to help them weather this storm.

I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who areskeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand thatskepticism. Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly goodintentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. Andwith a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get itright.

That is why I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough,unprecedented oversight effort – because nobody messes with Joe. Ihave told each member of my Cabinet as well as mayors and governorsacross the country that they will be held accountable by me and theAmerican people for every dollar they spend. I have appointed aproven and aggressive Inspector General to ferret out any and allcases of waste and fraud. And we have created a new website calledrecovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where theirmoney is being spent.

So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting oureconomy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because evenif we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recoveryunless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened ourfinancial system.

I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, becauseevery American should know that it directly affects you and yourfamily’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’vedeposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance issecure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financialsystem. That is not the source of concern.

The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, ourrecovery will be choked off before it even begins.

You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. Theability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everythingfrom a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock theirshelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.

But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loansfrom the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too manybanks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks arenow fearful of lending out any more money to households, tobusinesses, or to each other. When there is no lending, familiescan’t afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to makelayoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up evenfurther.

That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively tobreak this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-startlending.

We will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lendingfund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide autoloans, college loans, and small business loans to the consumers andentrepreneurs who keep this economy running.

Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsiblefamilies facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly paymentsand re-finance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t helpspeculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house hecould never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans whoare struggling with declining home values – Americans who will now beable to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan hasalready helped bring about. In fact, the average family whore-finances today can save nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.

Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government toensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enoughconfidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. Andwhen we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will holdaccountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments,provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure thecontinuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our peopleand our economy.

I understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comfortedby an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, andthat holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But suchan approach won’t solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken theday when we re-start lending to the American people and Americanbusiness and end this crisis once and for all.

I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance theyreceive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate howtaxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer.This time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad theirpaychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Thosedays are over.

Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federalgovernment – and yes, probably more than we’ve already set aside. Butwhile the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the costof inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economythat sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade.That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse foryou, and worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let thathappen.

I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress toprovide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicansalike were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed.So were the American taxpayers. So was I.

So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now,especially when everyone is suffering in part from their baddecisions. I promise you – I get it.

But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to governout of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – ourjob – is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense ofresponsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose ofrewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever ittakes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers or thefamily that has saved and still can’t get a mortgage.

That’s what this is about. It’s not about helping banks – it’s abouthelping people. Because when credit is available again, that youngfamily can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hireworkers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend,and if they can get a loan too, maybe they’ll finally buy that car, oropen their own business. Investors will return to the market, andAmerican families will see their retirement secured once more.Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy willrecover.

So I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary.Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession. Andto ensure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again, I askCongress to move quickly on legislation that will finally reform ouroutdated regulatory system. It is time to put in place tough, newcommon-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewardsdrive and innovation, and punishes short-cuts and abuse.

The recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediatesteps we’re taking to revive our economy in the short-term. But theonly way to fully restore America’s economic strength is to make thelong-term investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, anda renewed ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only waythis century will be another American century is if we confront atlast the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of healthcare; the schools that aren’t preparing our children and the mountainof debt they stand to inherit. That is our responsibility.

In the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often,we have come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page orlaundry lists of programs. I see this document differently. I see itas a vision for America – as a blueprint for our future.

My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address everyissue. It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – atrillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.

Given these realities, everyone in this chamber – Democrats andRepublicans – will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for whichthere are no dollars. And that includes me.

But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-termchallenges. I reject the view that says our problems will simply takecare of themselves; that says government has no role in laying thefoundation for our common prosperity.

For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at everymoment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation hasresponded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war,we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurredcommerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolutioncame a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for anew age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent ageneration to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, anAmerican on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapesour world.

In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; itcatalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousandsof entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.

We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimedopportunity from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That iswhy, even as it cuts back on the programs we don’t need, the budget Isubmit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical toour economic future: energy, health care, and education.

It begins with energy.

We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewableenergy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that haslaunched the largest effort in history to make their economy energyefficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behindcountries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybridsroll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made inKorea.

Well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries oftomorrow take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either.It is time for America to lead again.

Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply ofrenewable energy in the next three years. We have also made thelargest investment in basic research funding in American history – aninvestment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, butbreakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology.

We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carrynew energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will putAmericans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient sothat we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.

But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save ourplanet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately makeclean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask thisCongress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap oncarbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy inAmerica. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteenbillion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power andsolar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficientcars and trucks built right here in America.

As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of baddecision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers tothe brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their ownbad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled,re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobsdepend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe thenation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.

None of this will come without cost, nor will it be easy.