State of the Union Address: Obama

Obama: "America does not stand still and neither will I," Obama was saying in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Excerpts of his remarks were released in advance. Watch the State of the Union address on News.ca and Kevin Newman Live on News Channel starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, according to CTV. The initiatives Obama planned to unveil Tuesday night were tailored to fit those themes. He was to announce executive action to raise the minimum wage for new federal contracts, help the long-term unemployed find work and expand job-training programs. He also planned to renew his calls for Congress to expand the minimum wage increase to all workers, pass a sweeping immigration overhaul and increase access to early childhood education programs -- all initiatives that stalled after Obama first announced them in last year's State of the Union address and - Declaring that upward economic mobility has stalled for millions of Americans, President Barack Obama is challenging a deeply divided Congress to restore the nation's belief in "opportunity for all" -- while telling lawmakers he will act on his own "wherever and whenever" he can. The president's address, delivered before a joint session of Congress and millions of Americans watching on television, marks the opening salvo in a midterm election fight that will quickly consume Washington. Democrats, seeking to cast Republicans as protectors of the rich, have pressed Obama to focus more on issues of economic fairness and shrinking the gap between the wealthy and the poor. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.