Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner applaud President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address.
If you missed the State of the Union address Tuesday night, here are a few main points. The address is delivered annually by the president and reports the state of the nation along with an outline of the legislative agenda.
WOMEN AND EQUAL PAY
“That’s why this Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. Really. It’s 2015. It’s time.”
RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE
“We still need to make sure employees get the overtime they’ve earned. And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: if you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”
MAKING COMMUNITY COLLEGE FREE
“Second, to make sure folks keep earning higher wages down the road, we have to do more to help Americans upgrade their skills.”
“I’m also asking more businesses to follow the lead of companies like CVS and UPS (who have work/study programs), and offer more educational benefits and paid apprenticeships.”
SELLING MORE PRODUCTS OVERSEAS
“But 95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and we can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities.”
SUPPORT FOR NET NEUTRALITY
“I intend to protect a free and open internet…”
ENDING ISOLATIONIST CUBA POLICY
“In Cuba, we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date. When what you’re doing doesn’t work for 50 years, it’s time to try something new.”
STOP IRANIAN NUCLEAR ARMAMENT
“There are no guarantees that negotiations will succeed, and I keep all options on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran.”
PROTECTING AGAINST CYBER ATTACKS
“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids.”
DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
“The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.”
Staff Report