Exciting progress is happening every day.
To speed access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs， last year the FDA approved more new and generic drugs and medical devices than ever before in our history.
We also believe that patients with terminal conditions should have access to experimental treatments that could potentially save their lives.
People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure －－ I want to give them a chance right here at home. It is time for the Congress to give these wonderful Americans the ＂right to try.＂
One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries， these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities. Prices will come down.
America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies， our jobs， and our Nation＇s wealth.
The era of economic surrender is over.
From now on， we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal.
We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones.
And we will protect American workers and American intellectual property， through strong enforcement of our trade rules.
As we rebuild our industries， it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.
America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just 1 year －－ is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road？
I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe， fast， reliable， and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve.
Tonight， I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least ＄1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need.
Every Federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with State and local governments and， where appropriate， tapping into private sector investment －－ to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit.
Any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process －－ getting it down to no more than two years， and perhaps even one.
Together， we can reclaim our building heritage. We will build gleaming new roads， bridges， highways， railways， and waterways across our land. And we will do it with American heart， American hands， and American grit.
We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day＇s work. We want every child to be safe in their home at night. And we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love.
We can lift our citizens from welfare to work， from dependence to independence， and from poverty to prosperity.
As tax cuts create new jobs， let us invest in workforce development and job training. Let us open great vocational schools so our future workers can learn a craft and realize their full potential. And let us support working families by supporting paid family leave.
|
