On Monday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT, President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address to Congress and citizens of the U.S. Obama’s speech focused on a few main points, including immigration reform, minimum wage, climate change, America’swithdrawlfrom Afghanistan and retirement savings.

Obama began his speech with a report of how present policies were shaping the nation. He reported the lowest unemployment rate in over five years, a rebounding housing market, a manufacturing sector that’s adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s, more oil produced at home, slashed deficits and increased global faith in Americanbusiness.

“Let’s make this a year of action,” Obama said. “That’s what most Americans want, for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations.”

Along those lines, Obama said he was prepared to use executive orders to take significant action without the approval of Congress if he deemed the situation necessary.

Other significant moments include Obama’s plan to raise minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contract workers, his comments on the need for equal pay for equal work for women, and the story of injured Army Ranger CoryRemberg, who was in attendance.

​Rep. CathyMcMorrisRodgers from Washington gave the official Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address.Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida also delivered an official response, which was in Spanish. Several other prominent voices in the GOP filmed or published rebuttals of their own.

“Right now, the president’s policies are making people’s lives harder,”McMorrisRodgers said.”Republicans have plans to close the gap.”

​PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize winning branch of the “Tampa Bay Times” fact-checked Obama’s State of the Union speech as well as several of the statements McMorrisRodger said. Rulings range from “pants on fire” to “true,” with most from last night falling somewhere between “half true” and “true.”

​Read full text of Obama’s State of the Union speechhereor read back through The Link’s live-tweet account of the speech @HUStudentPubs.

On Monday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT, President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address to Congress and citizens of the U.S. Obama’s speech focused on a few main points, including immigration reform, minimum wage, climate change, America’swithdrawlfrom Afghanistan and retirement savings.

Obama began his speech with a report of how present policies were shaping the nation. He reported the lowest unemployment rate in over five years, a rebounding housing market, a manufacturing sector that’s adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s, more oil produced at home, slashed deficits and increased global faith in Americanbusiness.

“Let’s make this a year of action,” Obama said. “That’s what most Americans want, for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations.”

Along those lines, Obama said he was prepared to use executive orders to take significant action without the approval of Congress if he deemed the situation necessary.

Other significant moments include Obama’s plan to raise minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contract workers, his comments on the need for equal pay for equal work for women, and the story of injured Army Ranger CoryRemberg, who was in attendance.

​Rep. CathyMcMorrisRodgers from Washington gave the official Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address.Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida also delivered an official response, which was in Spanish. Several other prominent voices in the GOP filmed or published rebuttals of their own.

“Right now, the president’s policies are making people’s lives harder,”McMorrisRodgers said.”Republicans have plans to close the gap.”

​PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize winning branch of the “Tampa Bay Times” fact-checked Obama’s State of the Union speech as well as several of the statements McMorrisRodger said. Rulings range from “pants on fire” to “true,” with most from last night falling somewhere between “half true” and “true.”

​Read full text of Obama’s State of the Union speechhereor read back through The Link’s live-tweet account of the speech @HUStudentPubs.