THE PRESIDENT:  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice¹ President, members of Congress, and fellow Americans:

Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country.  We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that’s made things worse.

This past week, reporters have been asking, “What will this speech mean for the President?  What will it mean for Congress?  How will it affect their polls, and the next election?”

But the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care about politics.  They have real-life concerns.  Many have spent months looking for work.  Others are doing their best just to scrape by -- giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing² retirement³ to send a kid to college.

These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off.  They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share -- where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty⁴ would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in a while.  If you did the right thing, you could make it.  Anybody could make it in America.

For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode⁵.  They have seen the decks too often stacked against them.  And they know that Washington has not always put their interests first.

The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities.  The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours.  The question is whether, in the face of（面对） an ongoing⁶ national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.  (Applause.)  The question is -- the question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.   

Those of us here tonight can’t solve all our nation’s woes⁷.  Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers.  But we can help.  We can make a difference.  There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.

I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away.  It’s called the American Jobs Act.  There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation.  Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats⁸ and Republicans -- including many who sit here tonight.  And everything in this bill will be paid for.  Everything.  (Applause.)

The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple:  to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.  It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for long-term unemployed⁹.  (Applause.)  It will provide -- it will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll¹⁰ taxes in half for every working American and every small business.  (Applause.)  It will provide a jolt¹¹ to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and services.  You should pass this jobs plan right away.  (Applause.) 

Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin.  And you know that while corporate¹² profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t.  So for everyone who speaks so passionately¹³ about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you.  (Applause.)

Pass this jobs bill -- pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or if they raise workers’ wages.  Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year.  (Applause.)  If you have 50 employees -- if you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut.  And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012.

It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal.  Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan.  You should pass it right away.  (Applause.) 

Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America.  Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the country.  Our highways are clogged¹⁴ with traffic.  Our skies are the most congested in the world.  It’s an outrage¹⁵.  

Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us a economic superpower.  And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads?  At a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America?  (Applause.)