2015 State of the Union Address

Last updated

2015 State of the Union Address
Full video of the speech as published by the White House
DateJanuary 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)
Time9:00 p.m. EST
Duration59 minutes
VenueHouse Chamber, United States Capitol
Location Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°53′19.8″N77°00′32.8″W / 38.888833°N 77.009111°W / 38.888833; -77.009111
Type State of the Union Address
Participants
Footage C-SPAN
Previous 2014 State of the Union Address
Next 2016 State of the Union Address

The 2015 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 20, 2015, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 114th United States Congress. [1] It was Obama's sixth State of the Union Address and his seventh speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

Contents

Following recent tradition, Speaker of the House John Boehner sent a letter on December 19, 2014, formally inviting President Obama to speak [2] (despite a proposal from some conservatives that House Republicans withhold the invitation in retaliation for Obama's executive actions on immigration reform). [3] [4] The State of the Union Address was broadcast on various television and radio stations and webcast from the White House. [5] Webcasts were also provided by other sponsors, including a webcast from the U.S. Republican Party. [6]

The President addressed controversial economic issues in the U.S., arguing in support of expanding access to community college in the context of American higher education as well as in support of increased taxes on financial institutions. [7] In terms of U.S. foreign policy, he expressed his belief in American exceptionalism and defended what he saw as an assertive foreign agenda in which the country is "upholding the principle that bigger nations can't bully the small." [8]

Seating and guests

As since 2011, members of Congress sat together, regardless of party. Guests of First Lady Michelle Obama at the Address included the former prisoner of Cuba Alan Gross, astronaut Scott Kelly, DREAM Act immigration reform activist Ana Zamora, Ebola international emergency care coordinator Dr. Pranav Shetty, the CEO of CVS Health (which had recently become the first major retail pharmacy to stop selling tobacco products) Larry Merlo, working mother and community college education beneficiary Rebekah Erler, healthcare insurance acquisition worker Victor Fugate, wounded veteran Staff Sergeant Jason Gibson, sea-level rise researcher Nicole Hernandez Hammer, university student Anthony Mendez, technical education teacher Katrice Mubiru, healthcare coverage beneficiary and mother Astrid Muhammad, Spencer Stone, U.S. Air Force staff sergeant, and others (26 designated guests altogether). [9]

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was "repeatedly pictured slumbering in her chair" during the address. Ginsburg admitted that she "wasn't 100% sober". [10]

Designated survivor

The designated survivor is the member of the president's cabinet who does not attend the address in case of a catastrophic event, in order to maintain continuity of government. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx was the designated survivor. [11] [12]

Address contents and delivery

In general terms, President Obama referenced the country's many struggles over the past fifteen years and argued that the nation seemed primed to "turn the page". [8] The address focused on the improved American economic situation and the fight against terrorism, especially the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. [13] Obama called for community college to be made free, proposed a new tax on Wall Street companies, [7] and announced that he would issue an executive order to guarantee workers up to seven days of paid sick leave. [14] The President described the nation's drive as "strong" and stated, "Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis." [7]

In keeping with prior statements by the Obama administration on foreign policy, the President also remarked that the U.S. had good reason to stand up to what it saw as Russian belligerence towards Ukraine. The President specifically called for "upholding the principle that bigger nations can't bully the small." He also reiterated his belief in the idea of American exceptionalism. [8]

In a memorable moment, President Obama deviated from the official text after applause from Republicans following his statement that he had "no more campaigns to run." Obama then added "I know, because I won both of them." [15] [16]

With the speech delivered less than two weeks following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, many members of Congress held pencils during the speech to show their support for freedom of the press as well as to express their sympathy with the victims of the attack. [17]

Obama became the first president to use the words "lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", and "transgender" in a State of the Union Address, when addressing the need to protect the human rights of religious, sexual and gender minorities. [18]

Reactions

United States

Newly elected U. S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa gave the official Republican response in English to the State of the Union address, with Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida giving the official Republican Spanish-language response. The English and Spanish responses differed in that the Spanish response talked about immigration issues, whereas the English response did not. [19] In addition to the official Republican responses, Representative Curt Clawson of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky all gave their own televised responses. [20]

Obama's televised address was viewed by 33 million Americans, making it the lowest number in recent history. [21]

International

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Obama's speech indicated plans for world domination and displayed goading behavior. "The Americans have chosen a path toward confrontation, and do not evaluate their own steps critically at all", Lavrov added. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State of the Union</span> Annual report by the president of the United States

The State of the Union Address is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation. The State of the Union Address generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals. The State of the Union Address, a pivotal annual event, serves as a comprehensive reflection on the nation's current state, encompassing the president's strategic vision, economic outlook, and key legislative proposals before the United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boehner</span> American politician (born 1949)

John Andrew Boehner is a retired American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. The district included several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy McMorris Rodgers</span> American politician (born 1969)

Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers is an American politician who is the United States representative for Washington's 5th congressional district, which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodgers previously served in the Washington House of Representatives. From 2013 to 2019, she chaired the House Republican Conference.

In the United States, a designated survivor is a person in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others in the line when they are gathered together, to reduce the chance that everyone in the line will be unable to take over the presidency in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from such events such as State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. The designation of a survivor is intended to prevent the decapitation of the government and to safeguard continuity in the presidency if the president, the vice president, and others in the presidential line of succession die. The procedure began in the 1950s, during the Cold War, with the idea that nuclear attack could kill government officials and the United States government would collapse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Cruz</span> American politician (born 1970)

Rafael Edward Cruz is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">114th United States Congress</span> 2015–2017 legislative term

The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2015, to January 3, 2017, during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Barack Obama

The 2010 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 27, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 111th United States Congress. It was Obama's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

In American politics, the response to the State of the Union address is a rebuttal speech, often brief, delivered by a representative of an opposition party following a presidential State of the Union address. When the president is a Democrat, the rebuttal is typically given by a Republican, and vice versa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Barack Obama

The 2011 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 25, 2011, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 112th United States Congress. It was Obama's second State of the Union Address and his third speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Jobs Act</span>

The American Jobs Act and was the informal name for a pair of bills recommended by U.S. President Barack Obama in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress on September 8, 2011. He characterized the proposal as a collection of non-controversial measures designed to get Americans back to work, and he repeatedly urged Congress to pass it "right away"; he also said that the bills would not add to the national deficit and would be fully paid for.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Barack Obama

The 2012 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 24, 2012, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 112th United States Congress. It was Obama's third State of the Union Address and his fourth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastert rule</span> Informal governing principle used in the US Congress

The Hastert rule, also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used in the United States by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House. Under the doctrine, the speaker will not allow a floor vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill.

The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Barack Obama

The 2013 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on February 12, 2013, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 113th United States Congress. It was Obama's fourth State of the Union Address and his fifth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efforts to impeach Barack Obama</span> Talks and activities of attempted approaches into a possible impeachment of Barack Obama

During Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, certain Republican members of Congress, as well as Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich, stated that Obama had engaged in impeachable activity and that he might face attempts to remove him from office. Rationales offered for possible impeachment ranged from Obama allowing people to use bathrooms based on their gender identity, to the 2012 Benghazi attack, to Obama's enforcement of immigration laws, and false claims that he was born outside the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Barack Obama

The 2014 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 28, 2014, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 113th United States Congress. It was Obama's fifth State of the Union Address and his sixth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

United States House of Representatives v. Azar, et al. was a lawsuit in which the United States House of Representatives sued departments and officials within the executive branch, asserting that President Barack Obama acted illegally in his implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit was touted by House Speaker John Boehner, and asserted that President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority in delaying the implementation of the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act and also addressed "Republican opposition to an estimated $175 billion in payments to insurance companies over the next 10 years as part of a cost-sharing program under the healthcare law."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Donald Trump

The 2018 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 30, 2018, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 115th United States Congress. It was Trump's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Paul Ryan, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 State of the Union Address</span> Speech by US president Donald Trump

The 2020 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on February 4, 2020, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 116th United States Congress. It was Trump's fourth and final State of the Union Address and his fourth and final speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010s in United States political history</span> History of American politics from 2010 to 2020.

2010s in United States political history is the compiled history of major political events and issues in the United States from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2019. During this time period the United States experienced a wave of unprecedented political polarization and ongoing political debates such as climate change, voting rights, gun control, police misconduct, and immigration. The ongoing 2008 financial crisis dominated the early Obama presidency (2009-2017). Democrats held the majority in both houses of Congress and control of the presidency which enabled Obama to pass numerous landmark legislative pieces such as the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Dodd-Frank, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and the Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2011. Economic inequality and lack of accountability stemming from the financial crisis led to the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement which quickly expanded into hundreds of American cities. The enactment of the Affordable Care Act generated both national support and backlash around the administration's effort to expand the federal government's role in healthcare. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that laws restricting campaign finance donations were unconstitutional leading to a nationwide argument and scholastic research on campaign finance reform and the impact corporations have in American democracy. Conservative opposition such as the Tea Party Movement coalesced and won the 2010 midterm elections in a landslide. Obama's approval ratings fluctuated prior to the 2012 presidential election due to factors such as the economy and opposition to Obamacare. The Obama administration recovered and won widespread public praise following the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and a strong, co-ordinated response to Hurricane Sandy. Congress stalled on the administration's immigration reform agenda, prompting Obama to sign an executive order establishing the DACA program. Prior to the election, the administration was scrutinized for its response to the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks in which sitting US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was assassinated.

References

  1. ↑ Jackson, David (December 19, 2014). "Obama to deliver State of the Union on Jan. 20". USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ Boehner, John A. (December 19, 2014). "Letter to the President" (PDF). Congress of the United States, House of Representatives. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ Carrie, Dann (December 19, 2014). "Boehner Invites Obama for State of the Union Address on January 20". NBC News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ John, Arit (November 28, 2014). "Conservatives: Don't Let Obama Give State of the Union Address". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ "2015 State of the Union". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved January 21, 2015– via National Archives.
  6. ↑ "State of the Union 2015 - gop.gov". gop.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "State of the Union: Obama's Economic Proposals Add to Growing 2016 Debate". NBC News . Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Demirjian, Karoun (January 21, 2015). "Russia's response to SOTU: 'U.S. intends to dominate the world'". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ Jennifer Epstein (January 19, 2015). "Michelle Obama State of the Union guest list: Who's sitting with the First Lady - POLITICO". POLITICO. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "BBC News - US Justice Ginsburg admits she was not sober during speech". BBC News. February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Obama's 'designated survivor:' Anthony Foxx". USA Today. January 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jackson, David (January 20, 2015). "O". NationalJournal. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Obama says 'shadow of crisis has passed'". AAP. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  14. ↑ Gregory Korte, USA TODAY (January 21, 2015). "More than a speech, it's now State of the Union season". USA Today. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ Sullivan, Sean (January 21, 2015). "Obama draws new round of GOP animosity with 'I won both of them' line". The Washington Post .
  16. ↑ Chittal, Nisha (January 21, 2015). "The State of the Union's buzziest moment: 'I won both of them'". MSNBC.
  17. ↑ "Lawmakers Hold Pencils at SOTU in Support of Free Speech". NBC News . January 20, 2015.
  18. ↑ Tessa Berenson (January 20, 2015). "State of the Union 2015". TIME.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  19. ↑ Schreckinger, Ben; Kim, Seung Min (January 21, 2015). "GOP talks immigration reform in Spanish, but not English". politico.com . Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  20. ↑ Berenson, Tessa (January 20, 2015). "There will be 5 Republican Responses to the SOTU". Time . Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  21. ↑ "The state-of-the-union address: "Middle-class economics"". The Economist. January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
Preceded by State of the Union addresses
2015		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.