Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

It's tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable -– that America...

One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system...

This recession has also compounded the burdens that America's families have been dealing with for...

For these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough. Some are frustrated; some...

You know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity. After...

And tonight, tonight I'd like to talk about how together we can deliver on that promise.

Our most urgent task upon taking office was to shore up the same banks that helped cause this crisis....

So I supported the last administration's efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when...

Now, as we stabilized the financial system, we also took steps to get our economy growing again, save...

Now, let me repeat: We cut taxes. We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families. (Applause.)...

As a result, millions of Americans had more to spend on gas and food and other necessities, all of...

The plan that has made all of this possible, from the tax cuts to the jobs, is the Recovery Act. ...

But I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up...

We should start where most new jobs do –- in small businesses, companies that begin when -- (applause)...

-– one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. (Applause.)...

Tomorrow, I'll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad...

Now, the House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. (Applause.) As the first...

We can't afford another so-called economic "expansion" like the one from the last decade –- what some...

For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should...

As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may become, it's time to get...

We need to make sure consumers and middle-class families have the information they need to make financial...

Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic...

I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year. (Applause.) And this year I'm eager...

Third, we need to export more of our goods. (Applause.) Because the more products we make and sell...

Fourth, we need to invest in the skills and education of our people. (Applause.)

When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these...

And by the way, it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs...

This year, we will step up refinancing so that homeowners can move into more affordable mortgages....

After nearly a century of trying -- Democratic administrations, Republican administrations -- we are...

Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their...

But I also know this problem is not going away. By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans...

Here's what I ask Congress, though: Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close....

At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion....

I'm absolutely convinced that was the right thing to do. But families across the country are tightening...

We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that...

Now, yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I'll issue...

From some on the right, I expect we'll hear a different argument -– that if we just make fewer investments...

To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a...

But we can't stop there. It's time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf...

I'm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform. Applause.) Democrats and...

But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day. We can't...

So, no, I will not give up on trying to change the tone of our politics. I know it's an election...

This week, I'll be addressing a meeting of the House Republicans. I'd like to begin monthly meetings...

That's the work we began last year. Since the day I took office, we've renewed our focus on the terrorists...

As we take the fight to al Qaeda, we are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. As a candidate,...

Now, even as we prosecute two wars, we're also confronting perhaps the greatest danger to the American...

That's the leadership that we are providing –- engagement that advances the common security and prosperity...

Abroad, America's greatest source of strength has always been our ideals. The same is true at home....

We're going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws -– so that women get equal pay for an equal...

Unfortunately, too many of our citizens have lost faith that our biggest institutions -– our corporations,...

I campaigned on the promise of change –- change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now,...

Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard...

It lives on in the struggling small business owner who wrote to me of his company, "None of us," he...

It lives on in the 8-year-old boy in Louisiana, who just sent me his allowance and asked if I would...

The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in you, its people....