Obama laid out the blueprint of his economic revival plan in his annual State of the Union speech Tuesday that earned him a cold Republican response.
"It is our generation's task, then, to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class," he said Tuesday.
He pledged a "smarter" rather than bigger government for "the many, and not just the few" during his second term.
Obama asked a divided Congress, with the House controlled by the opposition Republicans and the Senate by his Democrats, to work together and revive American economy.
"Now let's get this done," he thundered.
"It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country - the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love," Obama said.
Obama emphasised on economic growth and job creation in the US and said that "nothing I'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime".
Delivering growth and jobs will be the "North Star that guides our efforts", he said.
"Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants," he said, focusing on the contentious issue of how to deal with America's 11.5 million undocumented immigrants.
"And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy."
Obama promised to sign a bipartisan reform bill "right away".
Republicans said Obama was airing ideas that won't work and they have repeatedly rejected.
Senator Marco Rubio, who was delivering the response, said Obama's solution "to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more".
House Speaker John Boehner also panned what he called the president's "go-it-alone-approach," accusing him of pushing "stimulus policies that have failed to fix our economy."
Obama also called for efforts to reduce gun violence.
He said an "overwhelming" majority of Americans supported "commonsense reform" on firearms including tighter background checks and restrictions on "weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines".
He cited several incidents of gun violence from the massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, to the shooting of six worshippers at a Sikh gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
"The families of Newtown deserve a vote... The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence - they deserve a simple vote," Obama said.
And he urged gun-control opponents to allow a vote in Congress on his proposals.
Obama also announced the withdrawal of 34,000 US troops from Afghanistan by next year.
Source: http://www.baltimorenews.net/index.php/sid/212554994/scat/b8de8e630faf3631
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