Every child deserves a great school – and we can give it to them, if we act now. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? This is America. And there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovating. A public transit project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country. There’s a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky that’s on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America. There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to get to work. 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? Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower. Our skies are the most congested in the world. Everyone here knows that we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over this country.

Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America. Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan. It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012. If you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year. Pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise workers’ wages. So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you. And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t. You should pass this jobs plan right away.Įveryone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services. 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. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. 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. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans – including many who sit here tonight. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. Those of us here tonight can’t solve all of our nation’s woes. 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 whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. And they know that Washington hasn’t always put their interests first. They have seen the deck too often stacked against them. If you did the right thing, you could make it in America.īut for decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. 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 awhile. These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off. 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. 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, and the next election?”īut the millions of Americans who are watching right now: they don’t care about politics. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that has made things worse. Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. Vice President, Members of Congress, and fellow Americans:

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