Obama State of the Union: Protect Health Care Reform, Strengthen Socia...

Obama Protect Health Care Reform Strengthen Social Security

Address stresses jobs through research education

President Obama called on Congress on Tuesday to work with him to move the nation past the recession and into an era of and investing in programs that will help the country compete in the world. AP President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2011. “We are poised for progress,” Obama said during his State of the Union speech. “The steps we’ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession – but to win the future, we’ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.” He touched on issues of importance to older Americans, including a defense of his , a promise to freeze domestic spending, a call for expanded job-training programs, a vow to veto pork projects and the need to tackle a runaway deficit as well as difficult topics such as improving the solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Fixing the Budget Deficit Acknowledging the reality of a new Republican majority arrayed before him in the House chamber, Obama struck many centrist themes, including praise for U.S. soldiers and a call for a five-year freeze on domestic discretionary spending except for security programs, saving more than $400 billion over 10 years. The cuts, which were not detailed, could affect programs of interest to older Americans.

Obama on the Deficit

A. Barry Rand, AARP’s chief executive officer, said he was concerned that deficit cutting could involve entitlement programs – Medicare and “While efforts to reduce the deficit are important, we will continue to speak out against any plan offered by the administration or Congress that would target these critical safety nets for changes based on budgetary targets instead of their impact on the lives of everyday Americans,” he said. Republicans have made it clear that they want the nation to go further in cutting spending, which has contributed to a massive federal debt. Hours before the speech, the House voted to roll back spending to 2008 levels. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, gave the official GOP response to the president’s address. Ryan said the country is at a tipping point and can’t afford the big-government vision of Democrats. “We are at a moment, where if government’s growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America’s best century will be considered our past century,” Ryan said. Republicans called for deeper domestic cuts and said their November trouncing of Democrats at the polls was a clear sign the public wants a smaller government.

“You voted out the big-spending politicians,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., a leader of the conservative Tea Party. “We’re in the very early days of a history-making turn in America.”

Obama on Social Security

Health Care Reform

Obama on Health Care Reform

Obama on Jobs

Education

Obama on Education

Civility Spurred by calls for bipartisanship in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona of colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, many lawmakers tried to put aside party rancor for the night. Many crossed the House chamber’s center aisle to sit with members of the opposite party and wore ribbons on their lapels to remember the victims of the Tucson shooting, where a gunman targeted Giffords and bystanders at a constituent meeting.

Obama on Civility

Obama said it would be more important for Wednesday than to sit together Tuesday night, especially with the Senate and the White House in Democratic hands and the House under Republican control. “New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans,” Obama said. “We will move forward together, or not at all – for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.” Obama cautioned that politicians are likely to argue about every letter of every law. “We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit – none of this will be easy. All of it will take time.” Tamara Lytle is a freelance reporter who has covered Congress, the White House and politics in Washington for more than 20 years. Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.