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Full Text: Obama Addresses Nation On Debt Crisis
July 25, 2011
President Obama addressed the nation Monday night on the current debt crisis. Here is full text of his speech, as prepared for delivery:
Good evening. Tonight, I want to talk about the debate we’ve been having in Washington over the national debt — a debate that directly affects the lives of all Americans.
For the last decade, we’ve spent more money than we take in. In the year 2000, the government had a budget surplus. But instead of using it to pay off our debt, the money was spent on trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, while two wars and an expensive prescription drug program were simply added to our nation’s credit card.
As a result, the deficit was on track to top $1 trillion the year I took office. To make matters worse, the recession meant that there was less money coming in, and it required us to spend even more -– on tax cuts for middle-class families to spur the economy; on unemployment insurance; on aid to states so we could prevent more teachers and firefighters and police officers from being laid off. These emergency steps also added to the deficit.
Now, every family knows that a little credit card debt is manageable. But if we stay on the current path, our growing debt could cost us jobs and do serious damage to the economy. More of our tax dollars will go toward paying off the interest on our loans. Businesses will be less likely to open up shop and hire workers in a country that can’t balance its books. Interest rates could climb for everyone who borrows money -– the homeowner with a mortgage, the student with a college loan, the corner store that wants to expand. And we won’t have enough money to make job-creating investments in things like education and infrastructure, or pay for vital programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Because neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this problem, both parties have a responsibility to solve it. And over the last several months, that’s what we’ve been trying to do. I won’t bore you with the details of every plan or proposal, but basically, the debate has centered around two different approaches.
The first approach says, let’s live within our means by making serious, historic cuts in government spending. Let’s cut domestic spending to the lowest level it’s been since Dwight Eisenhower was President. Let’s cut defense spending at the Pentagon by hundreds of billions of dollars. Let’s cut out waste and fraud in health care programs like Medicare — and at the same time, let’s make modest adjustments so that Medicare is still there for future generations. Finally, let’s ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to give up some of their breaks in the tax code and special deductions.
This balanced approach asks everyone to give a little without requiring anyone to sacrifice too much. It would reduce the deficit by around $4 trillion and put us on a path to pay down our debt. And the cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small businesses and middle-class families get back on their feet right now.
This approach is also bipartisan. While many in my own party aren’t happy with the painful cuts it makes, enough will be willing to accept them if the burden is fairly shared. While Republicans might like to see deeper cuts and no revenue at all, there are many in the Senate who have said, “Yes, I’m willing to put politics aside and consider this approach because I care about solving the problem.” And to his credit, this is the kind of approach the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, was working on with me over the last several weeks.
The only reason this balanced approach isn’t on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a different approach — a cuts-only approach -– an approach that doesn’t ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all. And because nothing is asked of those at the top of the income scale, such an approach would close the deficit only with more severe cuts to programs we all care about –- cuts that place a greater burden on working families.
So the debate right now isn’t about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done. Most Americans, regardless of political party, don’t understand how we can ask a senior citizen to pay more for her Medicare before we ask a corporate jet owner or the oil companies to give up tax breaks that other companies don’t get. How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don’t need and didn’t ask for?
That’s not right. It’s not fair. We all want a government that lives within its means, but there are still things we need to pay for as a country -– things like new roads and bridges; weather satellites and food inspection; services to veterans and medical research.
And keep in mind that under a balanced approach, the 98 percent of Americans who make under $250,000 would see no tax increases at all. None. In fact, I want to extend the payroll tax cut for working families. What we’re talking about under a balanced approach is asking Americans whose incomes have gone up the most over the last decade -– millionaires and billionaires -– to share in the sacrifice everyone else has to make. And I think these patriotic Americans are willing to pitch in. In fact, over the last few decades, they’ve pitched in every time we passed a bipartisan deal to reduce the deficit. The first time a deal was passed, a predecessor of mine made the case for a balanced approach by saying this:
“Would you rather reduce deficits and interest rates by raising revenue from those who are not now paying their fair share, or would you rather accept larger budget deficits, higher interest rates, and higher unemployment? And I think I know your answer.”
Those words were spoken by Ronald Reagan. But today, many Republicans in the House refuse to consider this kind of balanced approach -– an approach that was pursued not only by President Reagan, but by the first President Bush, by President Clinton, by myself, and by many Democrats and Republicans in the United States Senate. So we’re left with a stalemate.
Now, what makes today’s stalemate so dangerous is that it has been tied to something known as the debt ceiling -– a term that most people outside of Washington have probably never heard of before.
Understand –- raising the debt ceiling does not allow Congress to spend more money. It simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that Congress has already racked up. In the past, raising the debt ceiling was routine. Since the 1950s, Congress has always passed it, and every President has signed it. President Reagan did it 18 times. George W. Bush did it seven times. And we have to do it by next Tuesday, August 2nd, or else we won’t be able to pay all of our bills.
Unfortunately, for the past several weeks, Republican House members have essentially said that the only way they’ll vote to prevent America’s first-ever default is if the rest of us agree to their deep, spending cuts-only approach.
If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills -– bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses.
For the first time in history, our country’s AAA credit rating would be downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United States is still a good bet. Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people. We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis -– this one caused almost entirely by Washington.
So defaulting on our obligations is a reckless and irresponsible outcome to this debate. And Republican leaders say that they agree we must avoid default. But the new approach that Speaker Boehner unveiled today, which would temporarily extend the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now. In other words, it doesn’t solve the problem.
First of all, a six-month extension of the debt ceiling might not be enough to avoid a credit downgrade and the higher interest rates that all Americans would have to pay as a result. We know what we have to do to reduce our deficits; there’s no point in putting the economy at risk by kicking the can further down the road.
But there’s an even greater danger to this approach. Based on what we’ve seen these past few weeks, we know what to expect six months from now. The House of Representatives will once again refuse to prevent default unless the rest of us accept their cuts-only approach. Again, they will refuse to ask the wealthiest Americans to give up their tax cuts or deductions. Again, they will demand harsh cuts to programs like Medicare. And once again, the economy will be held captive unless they get their way.
This is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It’s a dangerous game that we’ve never played before, and we can’t afford to play it now. Not when the jobs and livelihoods of so many families are at stake. We can’t allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington’s political warfare.
Congress now has one week left to act, and there are still paths forward. The Senate has introduced a plan to avoid default, which makes a down payment on deficit reduction and ensures that we don’t have to go through this again in six months.
I think that’s a much better approach, although serious deficit reduction would still require us to tackle the tough challenges of entitlement and tax reform. Either way, I’ve told leaders of both parties that they must come up with a fair compromise in the next few days that can pass both houses of Congress -– and a compromise that I can sign. I’m confident we can reach this compromise. Despite our disagreements, Republican leaders and I have found common ground before. And I believe that enough members of both parties will ultimately put politics aside and help us make progress.
Now, I realize that a lot of the new members of Congress and I don’t see eye-to-eye on many issues. But we were each elected by some of the same Americans for some of the same reasons. Yes, many want government to start living within its means. And many are fed up with a system in which the deck seems stacked against middle-class Americans in favor of the wealthiest few. But do you know what people are fed up with most of all?
They’re fed up with a town where compromise has become a dirty word. They work all day long, many of them scraping by, just to put food on the table. And when these Americans come home at night, bone-tired, and turn on the news, all they see is the same partisan three-ring circus here in Washington. They see leaders who can’t seem to come together and do what it takes to make life just a little bit better for ordinary Americans. They’re offended by that. And they should be.
The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government. So I’m asking you all to make your voice heard. If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.
America, after all, has always been a grand experiment in compromise. As a democracy made up of every race and religion, where every belief and point of view is welcomed, we have put to the test time and again the proposition at the heart of our founding: that out of many, we are one. We’ve engaged in fierce and passionate debates about the issues of the day, but from slavery to war, from civil liberties to questions of economic justice, we have tried to live by the words that Jefferson once wrote: “Every man cannot have his way in all things — without this mutual disposition, we are disjointed individuals, but not a society.”
History is scattered with the stories of those who held fast to rigid ideologies and refused to listen to those who disagreed. But those are not the Americans we remember. We remember the Americans who put country above self, and set personal grievances aside for the greater good. We remember the Americans who held this country together during its most difficult hours; who put aside pride and party to form a more perfect union.
That’s who we remember. That’s who we need to be right now. The entire world is watching. So let’s seize this moment to show why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on Earth –- not just because we can still keep our word and meet our obligations, but because we can still come together as one nation.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
Comments
18 Responses to “Full Text: Obama Addresses Nation On Debt Crisis”
REGARDING:
“Failed stimulus plan, won’t defend borders, disdain for those who cling to their God and their guns,”etc., etc., etc. Some of these may even be true ”
I know the stimulus plan hasn’t delivered the result he professed he expected, so that would a failure of sorts.
I don’t believe it’s possible to stop people from crossing our borders any more than it’s possible to stop all prison escapes and people are escaping poverty to come to this country. Still, even if it is impossible — or maybe BECAUSE it’s impossible, you can make the case that not enough was done to stop illegal border crossings. Of course, most proposals to stop Hispanics coming over to work here would do nothing to stop determined terrorists and that’s the justification they keep throwing out.
(It’s noteworthy that we have jobs in this country which our citizens won’t do and which we don’t want to allow non-citizens to do. Something’s wrong with our social services situation on the first part when that occurs.)
We also remember seeing President Obama make fun of states who were worried about illegal aliens, non-citizens who are here illegally.
The “God and guns” statement was reported widely as Senator Obama was sucking up to some San Francisco donors while running for office. It really WAS insulting both to people of faith in God and to people of faith in firearms. (Also to folks who profess trust in God but only when armed, but there’s all kinds of religions.)
David for a perfect society
Can’t find ‘em eh, Bob?
David said…”If you were referring to some other accusation, I missed it.”
I said…You missed it (them), David. Ol’ Bob has several rants in this “discussion”, not just the last post. “Failed stimulus plan, won’t defend borders, disdain for those who cling to their God and their guns,”etc., etc., etc. Some of these may even be true but Bob presents his case with nothing to back his argument but his opinions.
And then he tells someone else to do his research for him. Goodness, Bob.
Sir EAB seems you have a computer with you, feel free to google or bing ,search engine and type in what you wish to know, That is where I get my information, so get your own informed, and do your own research , ,Check debt limit, T.S.Geithner, Acorn, Failure to raise debt ceiling,who gets payed if default happens, Groups funded by government programs,% of money pay down on nation debt if default happens, Credit rating effects. if debt not meet. There that should keep you busy for a while, do your own home work , I have done mine. But if the prez, and the dem, do not agree to very deep cuts, then I say ,drive the bus over the cliff, and we will all be in the same shape, fair & balanced.
REGARDING:
“Can you cite the sources for all the broad accusations you make?”
If you meant his accusation that the current president blames the former president, please consider from above:
“In the year 2000, the government had a budget surplus. But instead of using it to pay off our debt, the money was spent on trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, while two wars and an expensive prescription drug program were simply added to our nation’s credit card.
As a result, the deficit was on track to top $1 trillion the year I took office. To make matters worse, the recession meant that there was less money coming in, and it required us to spend even more -– on tax cuts for middle-class families to spur the economy; on unemployment insurance; on aid to states so we could prevent more teachers and firefighters and police officers from being laid off. These emergency steps also added to the deficit.”
This says the former administration eliminated the budget surplus. The former administration cut funding and raised expenses.
It doesn’t say it but implies the former administration caused the recession which forced the current administration to continue deficit spending by spending even more and cutting taxes even more.
So, yes, current president is blaming former president for current problems. (It’s true in great part, but no excuse to continue to follow path you reject.)
If you were referring to some other accusation, I missed it. Major thing is: president is to propose budget, Congress is to pass a budget. President is to carry out instructions of Congress. Congress hasn’t done its job.
David for perfect legislators & presidents
Bob Hudson said…”You seem Like our Prez, to be content with blaming others.”
I said…before Bob starts an exercise in blaming others. Bob,Bob,Bob,…..sit down for a minute. Take a deep breath. Once you get your head cleared you will see that you are just making statements without facts.
Can you cite the sources for all the broad accusations you make? Oh, and it would be helpful if maybe the source is not just the Murdoch News channel. If you could cite a *little bit* maybe you could be taken seriously and we could have a reasonable discussion.
And the Democrats need to tell the liberals to go form their own party.
And yet, government has grow 24 % under Obama, Lets see, we were funding Acorn till they got caught being unethical, We fund national arts, we fund all types of grants to nowhere, We fund pork barrel project , on both sides(dem& rep)We poor millions in to foreign aid,We poor millions in to the welfare system, (If you are not willing to be drugged tested, no free money for anyone)Why were we funding things like PBS, and the I believe the national broad casting group?Why is obamscare being shoved down our throats, when we can not afford it, no one wants it, and no one read it? Now pay military,families ,Vets, pay us back our S.S. M.C. (our money , not governments,) Pay down U.S.debt,Then cut every one else off till the smoke clears, and we see what we have left.And quit bailing ever one out, we lost 1.3billion in the chyisler deal, way to go uncle sam , good call(not)You do not give spend happy groups more money, they have proven that they can not, will not, manage what they have.
I think President Obama is great!! You people have about as much business talking about the issue as a Banana Tree to a turtle. Its just your full of hate for anything different, anything intelligent must be horrible politics. Did you see the idiot Scot on CNN this A.M. they had to just cut him out. You people think GE getting full tax cuts is just great, Oil and Gas getting billions in tax relief just great, even though they are making 10 and 20 billion a quarter. just cut spending, that would take all your vets off medical services, no more fake injuries, it would stop all military retirement payments, pull everyone out of Afganistan and Iraq, it would mean little medical care if any for the elderly and no nursing homes. Oh yeah, according to you granny can pull herself up by the bootstraps and get out of the nursing home. Love Boner the Boehner gonna write a new plan. He needs to to tell the Tea party ot go suck tea bags.
Sir, Eab, please stay focused, we are in debt NOW!The current government has spent more than we take in, We can blame others in a history book. Now it is very simple cut spending=savings and reduction in debt.But only if you do not raise the debt ceiling.By the way , who in their right mind , would want to give a group of people(government) more money? By the way before I forget, kill obamacare, we can not afford it. It is a joke any way. who in their right mind passes a bill before they can read it? (Idiots, that is who) As a blue dog democrat , The government is out of control, But I want spending cut very deeply, Free ride is over, And yet eab, you fail to address our true debt problem. You seem Like our Prez, to be content with blaming others. By the way our party ( democrat) has been hi-jacked with left wing liberals, for their own agenda. Well time to kick them out.
Bob Hudson said…”Once again Mr, Obama has no problem , blaming every one under the sun for his failed policies.”
I said… Bob says this, interestingly,…before blaming the Democrats for “everything under the sun.” And this after Obama quoted Reagan in a way the current crop of Republican leadership would never dare to.
By all means, let’s kill any vestiges of an attempt to improve health care in this country where fewer and fewer middle class folks can afford it. Let’s just let the insurance companies run the whole thing.
I remember when the Republicans killed the Clinton attempt to modify our health care fiasco. Bob Dole, when talking to the American people, said “Hey, we don’t have to do everything this year”. Then Republicans ignored the problem for the entirety of George Bush’s time in office, except for an unfunded mandate for Medicare drugs. Hey, I apologize. I voted for him twice. My bad.
During Bush the Second’s reign, he had a Republican congress to work with for half the time. We got nothing done (or attempted, really) in health care except for skyrocketing costs. And two expensive wars.
Bob’s second of two posts almost makes good sense except for the part about the jobs. We have companies making money hand over fist in this country right now, some with recording breaking profits. S&P’s top 500 companies earnings are up for 6 quarters in a row (USA Today, 7/12,2011). So where are the jobs?
The Demos may no longer be the party of working class people but the Republicans sure as heck aren’t. And they aren’t any more righteous than the Democrats. I voted Republican for the last 4 presidential elections because they sold themselves to me as the party of morality and frugality. I have learned my lesson.
Personally, I’m sick of listening to Obama speak….I did not vote for him, nor will I ever vote for him. I do not see why he insists on pre-empting prime-time TV over & over & over again.
I wish the networks could choose not to televise these little speaches. The State of the Union Address is different…..attack on the USA is different, etc. He uses these moments to force people to listen….If they haven’t already heard about the deficit & the country’s credit rating, the possibility of default, etc. by now…..they aren’t going to start hearing him now.
I know I’m going to stir a hornets nest with my next comments, but here goes…
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but there are a few shows I do record to watch later without commercials for my entertainment. I’m so very tired of discovering, after recording a show, that Obama has interrupted it to promote his agenda & blame everyone but himself. Inevitably, I don’t get to watch what I recorded due to the interruption….the show may have been aired in it’s entirety, but my recording stopped at the regularly scheduled ending time.
No one wants the blood on their hands. It’s too late, America.
The country is BLEEDING OUT !!!!!! Do your homework BEFORE you vote !!!!
Looks to me like he was trying to blame everything on George W Bush instead of taking any personal responsibility.
First S.S. M.C. is our money that we loaned to the government , with the agreement it would be there when we needed it. It is not our fault that both parties blew it. Now they owe us big time.It is not an (Entitlement), that would be welfare, and other programs that no one has paid in to. So we are going to tax the rich? Why? Till we learn how to control our spending, what is the point? Those with money create jobs, Because it take money to make money. What the should do is CUT every thing that is not related , to the running of this country. And that means on both sides.Close loop holes in tax code for every one, ( fair and balanced) Or at least look at it down the road.But the give away programs of this country must stop, and please kill, Obamacare, we sure can not afford that.
Once again Mr, Obama has no problem , blaming every one under the sun for his failed policies. Fact 14.3 trillion dollars in debt, 4 $trillion added in last 2 years. First ,2 years of current government controlled, by democratic party , house and senate, White house has now come out in favor of gay marriage, Will not control our borders from illegals coming in this country.Failed stimulus plan. 9.2 national unemployment.All facts. Now he has been in office 2 years 7 months, sorry but blame time is over with. You do not spend more than you make, and he refuses to say what programs he will cut. Of course, he had no problem with threating S.S. benifits, first, when he said we may not be able to pay our debt.(hey how about welfare?) He also has a distain for those who( cling to their God, and their guns ) The party has gone down hill ever sense , the liberals took over, what we should do is kick out the liberals, make them form their own party, and take our party back, it use to be for the working class, now it seems it is nothing more than a party for a left wing agenda.And this country, God Bless it, was not founded on that.
My biggest issue with Boehner’s response was it was ’staying on message’ with Karl Rove’s political organization’s current ad campaign attacking Obama. When he said “blank check” that caused me not to take him serious on anything he had to say afterward. If he is more concerned with maintaining Karl Rove’s political message than working for the American people then I have no use for him.
Pretty words, again. Where’s HIS plan to fix the deficit?Maybe if he had not forced Obamacare down our throats (behind closed door planning…so much for transperancy)) we would have less deficit and more confidence in our government! Stop taking money out of SSI for other things! I don’t have any confidence in anyone in government these days…let’s limit them all to 2 terms and get rid of some of these elected officials!
Yeah, Boner gave a response and it isn’t worth the wasted space to put it on. The credit ratings will go down with the Boner plan and the tea party will gut America. Great going!! There should be no sides.
and the republican response is where? i detest both parties, neither are looking out for the country; but show BOTH sides of the issue. Boehner did give a response after Obama.