Obama Gets Set to Preview State of Union Address
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Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama arrived back in Washington, D.C. Sunday following his 15-day Hawaiian vacation ready to take on the new Republican congress and set the stage for the upcoming State of the Union address.
He won’t be at his desk long, however, as the president will hit the road Wednesday for a three-day travel blitz to Detroit, Phoenix and Tennessee that officials describe as a sort of preemptive State of the Union.
According to the White House, Obama “will highlight the progress we have made in the economy” while promoting specific new executive actions and legislative proposals in the areas of home ownership, college education and job creation to be featured in the Jan. 20 speech to congress and the nation.
The strategy is a departure from years past when the weeks ahead of the president’s annual address to Congress have generally been a sleepy build-up to the nationally televised primetime unveiling of proposals.
It’s primarily an effort to quash the notion that Obama is a lame duck who has ceded power to political rivals and given up the spotlight to a field of his potential replacements in 2016.
Meanwhile, Republicans, who officially take control of leadership in the U.S. Senate, have also planned a flurry of action to promote their agenda to kick off the New Year.
A measure to help encourage small businesses to hire more veterans is one of the first bills the GOP House will push, Congressman Rodney Davis of Illinois said.
Republicans have also talked of voting again to repeal or modify the Affordable Care Act, block Obama’s immigration executive action, and enact a new round of sanctions on Iran.
Obama has said he’s optimistic about finding some common ground with a Republican Congress but will also act to aggressively defend his legislative achievements by using his veto power.
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