Obama: ‘There were no
winners in this
government shutdown’
Hi everybody. This week, because Democrats and responsible
Republicans came together, the government was reopened, and
the threat of default was removed from our economy.
There’s been a lot of discussion lately of the politics of this
shutdown. But the truth is, there were no winners in this. At a time
when our economy needs more growth and more jobs, the
manufactured crises of these last few weeks actually harmed jobs
and growth. And it’s understandable that your frustration with
what goes on in Washington has never been higher.
The way business is done in Washington has to change. Now
that these clouds of crisis and uncertainty have lifted, we need to
focus on what the majority of Americans sent us here to do –
grow the economy, create good jobs, strengthen the middle class,
lay the foundation for broad-based prosperity, and get our fiscal
house in order for the long haul.
It won’t be easy. But we can make progress. Specifically, there
are three places where I believe that Democrats and Republicans
can work together right away.
First, we should sit down and pursue a balanced approach to a
responsible budget, one that grows our economy faster and
shrinks our long-term deficits further. There is no choice between
growth and fiscal responsibility – we need both. So we’re making
a serious mistake if a budget doesn’t focus on what you’re
focused on: creating more good jobs that pay better wages. If
we’re going to free up resources for the things that help us grow –
education, infrastructure, research – we should cut what we don’t
need, and close corporate tax loopholes that don’t help create
jobs. This shouldn’t be as difficult as it has been in past years.
Remember, our deficits are shrinking – not growing.
Second, we should finish the job of fixing our broken immigration
system. There’s already a broad coalition across America that’s
behind this effort, from business leaders to faith leaders to law
enforcement. It would grow our economy. It would secure our
borders. The Senate has already passed a bill with strong
bipartisan support. Now the House should, too. The majority of
Americans thinks this is the right thing to do. It can and should get
done by the end of this year.
Third, we should pass a farm bill – one that America’s farmers
and ranchers can depend on, one that protects vulnerable
children and adults in times of need, and one that gives rural
communities opportunities to grow and the longer-term certainty
they deserve.
We won’t suddenly agree on everything now that the cloud of
crisis has passed. But we shouldn’t hold back on places where
we do agree, just because we don’t think it’s good politics, or just
because the extremes in our parties don’t like compromise. I’ll
look for willing partners from either party to get important work
done. There’s no good reason why we can’t govern responsibly,
without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis.
Because that isn’t governing – it’s just hurting the people we were
sent here to serve.
Those of us who have the privilege to serve this country have an
obligation to do our job the best we can. We come from different
parties, but we’re Americans first. And our obligations to you must
compel all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to cooperate, and
compromise, and act in the best interests of this country we love.
Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.
Learning Task 1:
Statements given are taken from President Obama’s address.
Identify which among the statements contain factual information
or subjective content. Write F for factual and S for subjective.
Write your answers in your
Write F for factual and S for subjective.
1. There were no winners in this government shutdown.
2. At a time when our economy needs more growth and more
jobs, the manufactured crises of these last few weeks
actually harmed jobs and growth.
3. The Senate has already passed a bill with strong bipartisan
support.
4. First, we should sit down and pursue a balanced approach
to a responsible budget, one that grows our economy faster
and shrinks our long-term deficits further.
5. Second, we should finish the job of fixing our broken
immigration system. There’s already a broad coalition across
America that’s behind this effort, from business leaders to
faith leaders to law enforcement. It would grow our economy.
