Speaker: As the leader of the majority party in Congress, the President addresses him at the start of his speech to signal his influence in rallying both parties together to achieve common goals. .
Cabinet: If Congress does not act to devise a bipartisan plan to come up with practical market-based solution to prevent the harmful effects of climate change, Mr. Obama will instruct his most trusted administrative officials—his cabinet—to come up with such a plan.
Checks and balances: Concerning the issue of counter terrorist operations, President Obama announced he will work closely with Congress to promote transparent actions consistent with American laws as interpreted by each of the branches of government.
Vice President: As second in command should the President become unable to exercise his duties the Vice President would step in to lead the nations. Therefore, he is addressed in the President’s speech as a guest of honor along with the members of Congress.
Congress: As the legislative branch of government, Congress passed a law mandating automatic budget cuts worth one trillion dollars in order to reduce the nation’s deficit.
Executive order President Obama considers cyber-attacks a dangerous threat to national security; therefore, he is directing Congress to enact the necessary laws to prevent hackers from damaging American institutions and invading the privacy of American citizens.
Commander-in-chief: As leader of the armed forces, President Obama pledged to do everything in his power to protect the men and women serving abroad.
Medicare: In the face of escalating health care costs, the President urged his government to put forth modest reforms to keep the guarantees of a secure retirement for the elderly and to come up with innovative ways to pay for health care without incurring excessive costs.
Recession: The President opened his speech by giving examples of how after years of stagnation, the American economy is showing signs of revival: businesses have created more than six million new jobs, the housing market is recovering, and consumer are buying more American cars and less foreign oil.
Budget: President Obama urged Congress to make sound decision on the nation’s budget, that is, the allocation of monies assigned in relation to expenditures and revenues that reflect the country’s economic obligations. As he noted, budget decisions will strengthen the nation’s economic recovery.
Tax Code: President Obama urged Congress to design tax reforms that are fair to all Americans, not just to the wealthy ones who can hire accountants to figure out loopholes in order to pay less taxes than hard working small businesses or middle class Americans.
Minimum Wage: According to President Obama no American family should live below the poverty line. No matter how hard they work, many families do not make a decent living. “This is wrong,” says President Obama. This is why he proposed to raise the minimum wage to $9.00 an hour.
Works Cited
DSJ Digital Network. “Obama’s Full 2013 State of the Union Address.” DSJ Digital Network. 12 February, 2013. Web. 23 February, 2013.
