Vice President Joe Biden  and House Speaker John
Boehner watch Barack Obama deliver his speech.



U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to make 2014 a year of action.

Speaking at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday night, President Obama told a joint session of Congress and millions of Americans watching him on television that this can be a breakthrough year for the United States.

Noting economic progress, including a rebounding housing market and the U.S. surpassing China as the number one place to invest, Obama said the U.S. is better positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on Earth, five years after the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. But, he said the question is whether U.S. officials are going to help or hinder this progress.

He criticized what he described as years of rancorous argument between Republicans and Democrats over the proper size of the federal government, saying that when the debate prevents the government from carrying out even the most basic functions, then officials are not doing right for the American people.

Obama praised the budget compromise reached in Congress last month, but he said it should leave the government "freer to focus on creating new jobs, not creating new crises."

He called on lawmakers to work with him to see in the coming months where else they can make progress together. And he called for a focus on opportunity for all Americans, "the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead."

President Obama said he will not wait for congressional legislation to speed up growth and expand opportunities for American families. He said he will act alone by executive order whenever he can.

Obama said that while corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, average wages have barely budged, inequality has deepened, and too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by.

The president also called for changes in the tax code to reward companies that create jobs at home and eliminate what he called incentives to ship jobs overseas.

Obama urged Congress to support American innovation, saying the nation that goes "all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow."

Obama called on lawmakers to undo the damage done by last year's cuts to basic research, saying the innovation edge is an edge the U.S. cannot surrender.

Promoting domestic energy production as a way to bring back jobs,  Obama said the U.S. is closer to energy independence than it has been in decades, as a result of the energy strategy he announced a few years ago.

He said lawmakers can help by putting people to work building fueling stations that shift more cars and trucks from foreign oil to American natural gas.

President Obama said the U.S. also is becoming a global leader in solar energy. He called for a smarter tax policy that "stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it," so the U.S. can invest more in fuels of the future that do.

He also highlighted partnerships the government has formed with businesses and communities to reduce energy consumption. He said the U.S. has reduced its total carbon pollution more than any other nation, but called for acting with more urgency, noting the damage climate change is already doing to communities.

Obama also pressed for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform this year, saying if the nation is serious about economic growth, it is time to fix the broken U.S. immigration system.

President Obama asked Congress to restore unemployment insurance for more than 1.6 million people looking for work. Congress let the funds run out late last year. Obama said he is convinced that reforming the unemployment insurance program can help Americans return to the work force faster.

Obama said he has asked Vice President Joe Biden to lead a reform of job training programs to make sure Americans have the skill employers need, and to match workers to good jobs that need to be filled immediately.

He also called on the heads of large corporations to give long-term unemployed Americans what he called a fair shot at a new job. 

The president again called on Congress to make high-quality pre-school education available to young children and ease the burden on those who he said feel trapped by student loan debt.

President Obama called for better opportunities for women, saying he believes that "when women succeed, America succeeds." He noted that women make up half the nation's work force but still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. He called that inequality wrong and an embarrassment, saying women deserve equal pay for equal work.

But the president said women are not the only ones who face stagnant wages and life in poverty. He announced an executive order that he will issue in the coming weeks that will require federal contractors to raise the minimum wage for federally funded employees to $10.10 an hour.

He called on Congress to do the same for all Americans, saying a nationwide raise will help families and give businesses customers with more money to spend. But he said business leaders, mayors, governors and state legislators do not have to wait for Congress to raise wages.

President Obama also urged lawmakers to strengthen an income tax credit program that he said already helps about half of American parents at some point.

And he called on Congress to help more Americans save for retirement. He said he is directing the Treasury Wednesday to create a new way for working Americans to start their own retirement savings with no risk of losing what they put in. The savings bond program will be known as "MyRA."

And he called for legislation that will protect U.S. taxpayers from ever having to foot the bill for a housing crisis again.

President Obama touted his health care program and appealed to Republicans not to vote again to overturn the law creating it.

The president said that because of the new law, no American can be turned down for health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, such as asthma or cancer. And he said a woman will no longer be charged more for health care just because she is a woman.

Obama said the health care law gives people the peace of mind that they do not have to lose everything if misfortune strikes.

He appealed to opponents of the law to come up with specific plans that can cut costs and cover more people, but to stop voting to repeal it.

President Obama said he will not send U.S. troops into war unless it is truly necessary, calling for the U.S. to move off what he called a permanent war footing.

Obama hailed the end of the U.S. wars in Iraq and soon in Afghanistan. He noted that all U.S. troops are out of Iraq and that troops will complete their mission in Afghanistan by the end of this year.

The president said that after 2014, a small force of Americans could remain in Afghanistan along with NATO allies to train and assist Afghan forces and continue counterterrorism operations.

He said the danger of terrorism remains and is evolving, and he mentioned extremist networks in Yemen, Somalia, Iraq and Mali. He said the U.S. has to remain vigilant, but that the nation's leadership and security cannot depend on the military alone.

And that is why, President Obama said, he has imposed limits on drone use and why he will reform the nation's surveillance programs, which came under intense scrutiny last year after leaks by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

President Obama also repeated his goal of closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Obama said he wants to be clear to Congress that he will veto any new sanctions bill against Iran that threatens to derail the talks, but that he will be the first to call for more sanctions if Iran does not comply.

The president said the United States forges alliances with Europe, Asia and Africa because it promotes long-term security and also because of the belief in the inherent dignity of every human being, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

President Obama ended his State of the Union speech Tuesday with a tribute to U.S. troops and veterans of war, and a pledge to ensure they receive the benefits they deserve.