01-28-2014, 09:50 AM
Today is the day - what's on the menu?
![[Image: 130213035245-n-obama-state-of-the-union-...deo-15.jpg]](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/130213035245-n-obama-state-of-the-union-2013-99-secs-economy-00000810-video-15.jpg)
ECONOMY & EXECUTIVE ORDERS/ACTIONS
Illustrating his willingness to act on his own, the White House says Obama will announce that he will sign an executive order increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 for new federal contracts. The measure affects only future contracts, not existing ones, and would only apply to contract renewals if other terms of the agreement changed.
The address will be wrapped in a unifying theme: The federal government can play a key role in increasing opportunities for Americans who have been left behind, unable to benefit from a recovering economy. Yet, at the core of the address, the president will deliver a split message.
Even as he argues that low income Americans and many in the middle class lack the means to achieve upward mobility, Obama will also feel compelled to take credit for an economy that by many indicators is gaining strength under his watch. As a result, he will talk positively about a recovery that remains elusive to many Americans.
Eager not to be limited by legislative gridlock, Obama on Tuesday is expected to announce executive actions on job training, retirement security and help for the long-term unemployed in finding work — all in addition to his order to increase the minimum wage on new federal contracts.
Obama's go-it-alone approach has already irritated Republicans, some of whom claim he is pushing the limits of the Constitution; others diminish his initiatives as insubstantial.
"He can work with us to create opportunity and prosperity," wrote Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Or he can issue press releases."
IMMIGRATION
Obama's biggest and most lasting accomplishment of his second term could be immigration legislation. House Republican leaders lately have sent signals that they are willing to act on piecemeal legislation, and Obama has given them room to work without prodding.
How immigration gets resolved will depend much on what the House is able to pass and if and how it can be reconciled with bipartisan Senate legislation that passed last year. Conservatives are pushing back against any bill that gives legal status to immigrants who are in the country illegally. And some Democrats would prefer to use the unresolved issue to mobilize Hispanic voters for this year's midterm elections.
GUN CONTROL
Obama is expected to try again in convincing Congress to support universal background checks.
Gabby Giffords' gun control advocacy organization will capitalize on the large viewing audience and run an ad during the State of the Union address.
Here's the gist of it:
In the spot, Giffords ask, "What is Congress afraid of?"
"Nine out of ten Americans support background checks. They make it harder for criminals and the mentally ill to get guns. Congress is afraid of the gun lobby. Tell Washington it's too dangerous to wait," she says in the ad.
"Congress continues to listen to the gun lobby instead of their constituents, so we're going to keep fighting at the state level to make our communities safer. It's too dangerous to wait," she said in statement about the ad buy.
Refs:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/28...90441.html
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/201...ontrol-ad/
ECONOMY & EXECUTIVE ORDERS/ACTIONS
Illustrating his willingness to act on his own, the White House says Obama will announce that he will sign an executive order increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 for new federal contracts. The measure affects only future contracts, not existing ones, and would only apply to contract renewals if other terms of the agreement changed.
The address will be wrapped in a unifying theme: The federal government can play a key role in increasing opportunities for Americans who have been left behind, unable to benefit from a recovering economy. Yet, at the core of the address, the president will deliver a split message.
Even as he argues that low income Americans and many in the middle class lack the means to achieve upward mobility, Obama will also feel compelled to take credit for an economy that by many indicators is gaining strength under his watch. As a result, he will talk positively about a recovery that remains elusive to many Americans.
Eager not to be limited by legislative gridlock, Obama on Tuesday is expected to announce executive actions on job training, retirement security and help for the long-term unemployed in finding work — all in addition to his order to increase the minimum wage on new federal contracts.
Obama's go-it-alone approach has already irritated Republicans, some of whom claim he is pushing the limits of the Constitution; others diminish his initiatives as insubstantial.
"He can work with us to create opportunity and prosperity," wrote Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Or he can issue press releases."
IMMIGRATION
Obama's biggest and most lasting accomplishment of his second term could be immigration legislation. House Republican leaders lately have sent signals that they are willing to act on piecemeal legislation, and Obama has given them room to work without prodding.
How immigration gets resolved will depend much on what the House is able to pass and if and how it can be reconciled with bipartisan Senate legislation that passed last year. Conservatives are pushing back against any bill that gives legal status to immigrants who are in the country illegally. And some Democrats would prefer to use the unresolved issue to mobilize Hispanic voters for this year's midterm elections.
GUN CONTROL
Obama is expected to try again in convincing Congress to support universal background checks.
Gabby Giffords' gun control advocacy organization will capitalize on the large viewing audience and run an ad during the State of the Union address.
Here's the gist of it:
In the spot, Giffords ask, "What is Congress afraid of?"
"Nine out of ten Americans support background checks. They make it harder for criminals and the mentally ill to get guns. Congress is afraid of the gun lobby. Tell Washington it's too dangerous to wait," she says in the ad.
"Congress continues to listen to the gun lobby instead of their constituents, so we're going to keep fighting at the state level to make our communities safer. It's too dangerous to wait," she said in statement about the ad buy.
Refs:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/28...90441.html
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/201...ontrol-ad/