"Good evening my fellow Americans,
I regret to inform you tonight that, despite my best efforts to lead Congress in the right direction, the Republicans have resisted all of my efforts to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling. They have remained obstinate, and true to their pledge to Grover Norquist not to agree to any deal that raises taxes on those in the highest income brackets, even when doing so imperils our great nation and its ability to recover from our current economic crisis. Once again, my opponents in Congress have abused serious issues for political gain, and have been indifferent to the responsibility of governance and to the needs of the people they serve.
As a consequence of our continued failure to reach an acceptable
agreement, the government will cut the budget by $110 billion, split
evenly between social programs and defense spending. The sequestration
would take effect every year for the next 9 years, and it affects
Medicare benefits, as well as payroll taxes and unemployment benefits.
Let it be known that I have done everything I could have to try to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling short of conceding more ground by agreeing to a deal that would once again pass the responsibility of actually solving this problem to future generations. I have been reelected because I believe in what I was sent here to do, both by the people and for the people, and so long as I hold this esteemed office, I will be held responsible for and to the people. I will not allow the federal budget to be balanced on the backs of middle- and lower-income Americans just because those at the top don't want to pay a little more.
The Republicans chose to play dangerous games for the sake of ideological purity, and the end result serves no one, not even those to whom they are responsible. Their own supporters urged them to concede and accept my deal, but they pressed on, as a matter of blind principle, and are thus ultimately responsible for the budget cuts that will take effect immediately, and begin to affect you later this year.
They will try to tell you that I should have accepted their deal to avoid this calamity, but the truth is that you have invested in me to exercise your will, by virtue of both the popular vote and electoral vote. I have continued to stress a fairer tax code, and you showed that agreed with me, and thus I have exercised the leverage bestowed upon me. I vowed to do what I believed is right for this country, and I believe I have.
The real culprit is an ultimately callous political attitude exemplified by a certain member of the Senate who vowed to ensure that I had only a single term. During the past four years, despite many attempts by myself and my allies in Congress to alleviate the effects of the recession, very little progress was made because of this callous political nihilism which was only concerned with my defeat, and not with doing anything to help ordinary Americans. This is the attitude that you so roundly rejected on November 6th, 2012, and this is why I chose to hold fast against such intractable opposition.
In the coming months, we will continue to face major challenges, some perhaps even greater than this one, and I promise to continue to reach out to Republicans in Congress to help solve these issues. As your President, as the person duly elected by popular mandate to the highest office, I merely ask that you remember what I have said today; that you remember how the people you elected to office have thought of you as we navigated through this crisis, and by doing so, may you hope to one day see what Good Governance should mean.
Good night, and God Bless America."
--President Barack Obama*
