2015 State of the Union Address

2015 State of the Union Address
Full video of the speech as published by the White House
DateJanuary 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)
Time9:00 p.m. EST
Duration59 minutes
VenueHouse Chamber, United States Capitol
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′19.8″N 77°00′32.8″W / 38.888833°N 77.009111°W / 38.888833; -77.009111
TypeState of the Union Address
Participants
FootageC-SPAN
Previous2014 State of the Union Address
Next2016 State of the Union Address

The 2015 State of the Union Address was given by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, on January 20, 2015, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 114th United States Congress.[1] It was Obama's sixth State of the Union Address and his seventh speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, John Boehner, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

Following recent tradition, Speaker of the House John Boehner sent a letter on December 19, 2014, formally inviting President Obama to speak[2] (despite a proposal from some conservatives that House Republicans withhold the invitation in retaliation for Obama's executive actions on immigration reform).[3][4] The State of the Union Address was broadcast on various television and radio stations and webcast from the White House.[5] Webcasts were also provided by other sponsors, including a webcast from the U.S. Republican Party.[6]

The President addressed controversial economic issues in the U.S., arguing in support of expanding access to community college in the context of American higher education as well as in support of increased taxes on financial institutions.[7] In terms of U.S. foreign policy, he expressed his belief in American exceptionalism and defended what he saw as an assertive foreign agenda in which the country is "upholding the principle that bigger nations can't bully the small."[8]

  1. ^ Jackson, David (December 19, 2014). "Obama to deliver State of the Union on Jan. 20". USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Boehner, John A. (December 19, 2014). "Letter to the President" (PDF). Congress of the United States, House of Representatives. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Carrie, Dann (December 19, 2014). "Boehner Invites Obama for State of the Union Address on January 20". NBC News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  4. ^ John, Arit (November 28, 2014). "Conservatives: Don't Let Obama Give State of the Union Address". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. ^ "2015 State of the Union". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2015 – via National Archives.
  6. ^ "State of the Union 2015 - gop.gov". gop.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference economic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Russia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).