第1篇 克林顿总统英语演讲稿
以下小编整理的克林顿总统英语演讲稿，供大家参考，希望大家能够有所收获!
克林顿总统英语演讲稿
first, i'd like to thank the commission and my opponents for participating in these debates and making them possible. i think the real winners of the debates were the american people. i was especially moved in richmond a few days ago, when 209 of our fellow citizens got to ask us questions. they went a long way toward reclaiming this election for the american people and taking their country back. i want to say, since this is the last time, i'll be on platform with my opponents, that even though, i disagree with mr. perot on how fast we can reduce the deficit and how much we can increase taxes in the middle class, i really respect what he's done in this campaign to bring the issue of deficit reduction to our attention. i'd like to say that mr. bush even though i have got profound differences with him, i do honor his service to our country. i appreciate his efforts and i wish him well. i just believe it's time to change.
i offer a new approach. it's not trickle-down economics. it's been tried for 12 years and it's failed. more people are working harder, for less, 100,000 people a month losing their health insurance, unemployment going up, our economics slowing down. we can do better, and it's not tax and spend economics. it's invest and grow, put our people first, control health care costs and provide basic health care to all americans, have an education system second to none, and revitalize the private economy. that is my commitment to you. it is the kind of change that can open up a whole world of opportunities toward the 21st century.
i want a country where people, who work hard and play by the rules, are rewarded, not punished. i want a country where people are coming together across the lines of race and region and income. i know we can do better. it won't take miracles and it won't happen overnight, but we can do much, much better, if we have the courage to change.
thank you very much.
第2篇 父亲节美国总统的英语演讲稿
hi, everybody. sunday is father's day. if you haven't got dad a gift yet, there's still time. just barely. but the truth is, what we give our fathers can never match what our fathers give us.
i know how important it is to have a dad in your life, because i grew up without my father around. i felt the weight of his absence. so for michelle and our girls, i try every day to be the husband and father my family didn't have when i was young. and every chance i get, i encourage fathers to get more involved in their children's lives, because what makes you a man isn't the ability to have a child – it's the courage to raise one.
still, over the past couple years, i've met with a lot of young people who don't have a father figure around. and while there's nothing that can replace a parent, any of us can do our part to be a mentor, a sounding board, a role model for a kid who needs one. earlier this year, i launched an initiative called my brother's keeper – an all-hands-on-deck effort to help more of our young men reach their full potential. and if you want to be a mentor to a young man in your community, you can find out how at whitehouse.gov/mybrotherskeeper.
now, when i launched this initiative, i said that government can't play the primary role in a young person's life. taking responsibility for being a great parent or mentor is a choice that we, as individuals, have to make. no government program can ever take the place of a parent's love. still, as a country, there are ways we can help support dads and moms who make that choice.
that's why, earlier this week, we brought working dads from across america to the white house to talk about the challenges they face. and in a few weeks, i'll hold the first-ever white house working families summit. we've still got too many workplace policies that belong in the 1950s, and it's time to bring them up to date for today's families, where oftentimes, both parents are working. moms and dads deserve affordable child care, and time off to care for a sick parent or child without running into hardship. women deserve equal pay for equal work – and at a time when more women are breadwinners for a family, that benefits men, too. and because no parent who works full-time should have to raise a family in poverty, it's time for congress to follow the lead of state after state, get on the bandwagon, and give america a raise.
dads work hard. so our country should do what we can to make sure their hard work pays off; to make sure life for them and their families is a little less stressful, and a little more secure, so they can be the dads their kids need them to be. because there's nothing more precious in life than the time we spend with our children. there's no better feeling than knowing that we can be there for them, and provide for them, and help give them every shot at success.
let's make sure every dad who works hard and takes responsibility has the chance to know that feeling, not just on one sunday, but every day of the year.
thanks everybody, happy father's day, and have a great weekend.
第3篇 奥巴马总统在2019年＂总统自由勋章＂颁发仪式英语演讲稿
the president: good morning! (applause.) good morning,everybody! everybody,please have aseat. have a seat.
well, on behalf of michelle andmyself, welcome to the white house. thisis one of myfavorite events every year, especially special this year, as ilook at this extraordinary group ofindividuals and our opportunity to honorthem with our nation’s highest civilian honor -- thepresidential medal offreedom.
and this year, it’s just a littlemore special because this marks the 50th anniversary ofpresident kennedyestablishing this award. we’re honored,by the way, today to have with us oneof my favorite people -- ethel kennedy --and a pretty good basketball player, presidentkennedy’s grandson, jack. (applause.)
this medal has been bestowed onmore than 500 deserving people. tonight,i’m lookingforward to joining some of these honorees, as well as members ofthe kennedy family, as we paytribute to these 50 years of excellence. and this morning, we’re honored to add 16 newnamesto this distinguished list.
today, we salute fiercecompetitors who became true champions. in the sweltering heat of achicago summer, ernie banks walked into thecubs locker room and didn’t like what he saw. “everybody was sitting around, heads down, depressed,” he recalled. so ernie piped up andsaid, “boy, what agreat day! let’s play two!” (laughter.) that’s “mr. cub” -- a man who cameup through the negro leagues, making$7 a day, and became the first black player to suit up forthe cubs and one ofthe greatest hitters of all time. and inthe process, ernie became known asmuch for his 512 home runs as for his cheerand his optimism and his eternal faith thatsomeday the cubs would go all theway. (laughter.)
and that's serious belief. (laughter.) that is something that even a white sox fan like mecan respect. (laughter.) but he is just a wonderful man and a great icon of my hometown.
speaking of sports, dean smith isone of the winningest coaches in college basketballhistory, but his successesgo far beyond xs and os. even as he won78 percent of his games, hegraduated 96 percent of his players. the first coach to use multiple defenses in agame, hewas the pioneer who popularized the idea of “pointing to the passer”-- after a basket, playersshould point to the teammate who passed them theball. and with his first national titleon theline, he did have the good sense to give the ball to a 19-year-old kidnamed michael jordan. (laughter.) although they used to joke that the onlyperson who ever held michael under 20 wasdean smith. (laughter.)
while coach smith couldn’t joinus today due to an illness that he’s facing withextraordinary courage, we alsohonor his courage in helping to change our country -- herecruited the firstblack scholarship athlete to north carolina and helped to integratearestaurant and a neighborhood in chapel hill. that's the kind of character that he representedon and off the court.
we salute innovators who pushedthe limits of science, changing how we see the world --and ourselves. and growing up, sally ride read about thespace program in the newspaperalmost every day, and she thought this was “thecoolest thing around.” when she was aphdcandidate at stanford she saw an ad for astronauts in the student newspaperand she seizedthe opportunity. as thefirst american woman in space, sally didn’t just break thestratospheric glassceiling, she blasted through it. andwhen she came back to earth, shedevoted her life to helping girls excel infields like math, science and engineering. “young girlsneed to see role models,” she said, “you can’t be what youcan’t see.” today, our daughters --includingmalia and sasha -- can set their sights a little bit higher because sally rideshowedthem the way.
now, all of us have moments whenwe look back and wonder, “what the heck was ithinking?” i have that -- (laughter) -- quite abit. psychologist daniel kahneman hasmade thatsimple question his life’s work. in a storied career in israel and america, he basically inventedthestudy of human decision-making. he’shelped us to understand everything from behavioraleconomics to “does living incalifornia make people happy?” it’s aninteresting question. he’salso beencalled an expert on irrational behavior -- so i'm sure that he could shed somelight onwashington. (laughter.)
but what truly sets daniel apartis his curiosity. guided by his beliefthat people are“endlessly complicated and interesting,” at 79 he’s stilldiscovering new insights into how wethink and learn, not just so we understandeach other, but so we can work and live togethermore effectively.
dr. mario molina’s love of sciencestarted as a young boy in mexico city, in a homemadelaboratory in a bathroomat home. and that passion for discoveryled mario to become one ofthe most respected chemists of his era. he was awarded the nobel peace prize -- orthe nobelprize, rather, not only for his path-breaking research, but also forhis insistence that when weignore dangerous carbon emissions we riskdestroying the ozone layer and endangering ourplanet. and thanks to mario’s work, the world cametogether to address a common threat, andtoday, inspired by his example, we’reworking to leave our planet safer and cleaner for futuregenerations.
we also have to salute musicians,who bring such joy to our lives. lorettalynn was 19 thefirst time she won the big -- she won big at the localfair. her canned vegetables broughthome17 blue ribbons -- (laughter) -- and made her “canner of the year.”(laughter.) now, that’simpressive. (laughter.)
for a girl from butcher hollow,kentucky, that was fame. fortunately forall of us, shedecided to try her hand at things other than canning. her first guitar cost $17, and with itthiscoal miner’s daughter gave voice to a generation, singing what no one wanted totalk aboutand saying what no one wanted to think about. and now, over 50 years after she cut herfirstrecord -- and canned her first vegetables -- (laughter) -- loretta lynnstill reigns as the rule-breaking, record-setting queen of country music.
as a young man in cuba, arturosandoval loved jazz so much it landed him in jail. it wasthe cold war, and the only radiostation where he could hear jazz was the voice of america,which was dangerousto listen to. but arturo listenedanyway. later, he defected to theunitedstates knowing he might never see his parents or beloved homeland again. “withoutfreedom,” he said, “there is nolife.” and today, arturo is an americancitizen and one of the mostcelebrated trumpet players in the world. “there isn’t any place on earth where thepeopledon’t know about jazz,” he says, and that’s true in part becausemusicians like him havesacrificed so much to play it.
we salute pioneers who pushed ournation towards greater justice and equality. a baptistminister, c.t. vivian was one of dr. martin luther king, jr.’sclosest advisors. “martin taught us,”hesays, “that it’s in the action that we find out who we really are.” and time and again,reverend vivian was amongthe first to be in the action: in 1947,joining a sit-in to integrate anillinois restaurant; one of the first freedomriders; in selma, on the courthouse steps toregister blacks to vote, for whichhe was beaten, bloodied and jailed. rosaparks said of him, “even after things had supposedly been taken care of and wehad our rights, he was still outthere, inspiring the next generation,including me,” helping kids go to college with a programthat would becomeupward bound. and at 89 years old,reverend vivian is still out there, still inthe action, pushing us closer toour founding ideals.
now, early in the morning the dayof the march on washington, the national mall was farfrom full and some in thepress were beginning to wonder if the event would be a failure. butthe march’s chief organizer, bayardrustin, didn’t panic. as the story goes,he looked down at apiece of paper, looked back up, and reassured reportersthat everything was right on schedule.the only thing those reporters didn’t know was that the paper he washolding was blank. (laughter.) he didn’t know how it was going to work out,but bayard had an unshakableoptimism, nerves of steel, and, most importantly,a faith that if the cause is just and people areorganized, nothing can standin our way.
so, for decades, this greatleader, often at dr. king’s side, was denied his rightful place inhistorybecause he was openly gay. no medal canchange that, but today, we honor bayardrustin’s memory by taking our place inhis march towards true equality, no matter who we areor who we love. (applause.)
speaking of game-changers,disrupters, there was a young girl names gloria steinem whoarrived in new yorkto make her mark as a journalist, and magazines only wanted to writearticleslike “how to cook without really cooking for men.” (laughter.) gloria noticed things likethat. (laughter.) she’s been called a “championnoticer.” she’s alert to all the ways,large andsmall, that women had been and, in some cases, continue to be treatedunfairly just becausethey’re women.
as a writer, a speaker, anactivist, she awakened a vast and often skeptical public toproblems likedomestic violence, the lack of affordable child care, unfair hiringpractices. andbecause of her work,across america and around the world, more women are afforded the respectandopportunities that they deserve. but shealso changed how women thought aboutthemselves. and gloria continues to pour her heart intoteaching and mentoring. her one pieceofadvice to young girls is -- i love this -- “do not listen to my advice. listen to the voice insideyou and follow that.”
when patricia wald’s law firmasked if she’d come back after having her first child, she saidshe’d like sometime off to focus on her family -- devoted almost 10 years to raisingfivechildren. but patricia never lost theitch to practice law. so while herhusband watched thekids at home, she’d hit the library on weekends. at the age 40, she went back to thecourtroomto show the “young kids” a thing or two. as the first female judge on the d.c. circuit,patricia was a topcandidate for attorney general. afterleaving the bench, her idea of retirementwas to go to the hague to presideover the trials of war criminals. patricia says she hopesenough women will become judges that “it’s notworth celebrating” anymore. but today,wecelebrate her. and along with gloria,she shows there are all kinds of paths listening to yourown voice.
we salute communicators whoshined a light on stories no one else was telling. a veteran ofworld war ii and more than adozen pacific battles, ben bradlee brought the same intensityand dedication tojournalism. since joining the washingtonpost 65 years ago, he transformedthat newspaper into one of the finest in theworld. with ben in charge, the postpublished thepentagon papers, revealing the true history of america’sinvolvement in vietnam; exposedwatergate; unleashed a new era of investigativejournalism, holding america’s leadersaccountable and reminding us that ourfreedom as a nation rests on our freedom of the press.when ben retired, senator daniel patrickmoynihan put the admiration of many into a poem: “o rare ben bradlee/his reign has ceased/buthis nation stands/its strength increased.”
and i also indicated to ben hecan pull off those shirts and i can't. (laughter.) he alwayslooks socool in them. (laughter.)
early in oprah winfrey’s career,her bosses told her she should change her name to susie. (laughter.) i have to pause here to say i got the same advice. (laughter and applause.) theydidn't say i should be named “susie,”but they suggested i should change my name. (laughter.)people can relate tosusie, that's what they said. it turnedout, surprisingly, that people couldrelate to oprah just fine.
in more than 4,500 episodes ofher show, her message was always, “you can.” “you can doand you can be and you can grow and it can be better.” and she was living proof, rising fromachildhood of poverty and abuse to the pinnacle of the entertainmentuniverse. but even with40 emmys, thedistinction of being the first black female billionaire, oprah’s greateststrengthhas always been her ability to help us discover the best inourselves. michelle and icountourselves among her many devoted fans and friends. as one of those fans wrote, “i didn’tknow ihad a light in me until oprah told me it was there.” what a great gift.
and, finally, we salute publicservants who’ve strengthened our nation. daniel inouye wasa humble man and didn’t wear his medal of honor veryoften. instead, he liked to wear apinrepresenting the good conduct medal he earned as a teenage private. “to behave yourselftakes special effort,” hesaid, “and i did not want to dishonor my family.” danny always honoredhis family and hiscountry, even when his country didn’t always honor him.
after being classified as an “enemyalien,” danny joined a japanese american unit thatbecame one of the mostdecorated in world war ii. and as thesecond-longest serving senatorin american history, he showed a generation ofyoung people -- including one kid with a funnyname growing up in hawaii whonoticed that there was somebody during some of those hearingsin washingtonthat didn't look like everybody else, which meant maybe i had a chance todosomething important, too. he taught allof us that no matter what you look like or where youcome from, this countryhas a place for everybody who’s willing to serve and work hard.
a proud hoosier, dick lugar hasserved america for more than half a century, from a youngnavy lieutenant to arespected leader in the united states senate. i’ll always be thankful to dickfor taking me -- a new, junior senator-- under his wing, including travels together to reviewsome of his visionarywork, the destruction of cold war arsenals in the former soviet union --something that doesn’t get a lot of publicnotice, but was absolutely critical to making us saferin the wake of the coldwar.
now, i should say, traveling withdick you get close to unexploded landmines, mortar shells,test tubes filledwith anthrax and the plague. (laughter.) his legacy, though, is the thousandsofmissiles and bombers and submarines and warheads that no longer threaten usbecause of hisextraordinary work. andour nation and our world are safer because of this statesman. and in atime ofunrelenting partisanship, dick lugar’s decency, his commitment tobipartisanproblem-solving, stand as a model of what public service ought to be.
now, last, but never least, wehonor a leader who we still remember with suchextraordinary fondness. he still remembers as a child waving goodbyeto his mom -- tears inher eyes -- as she went off to nursing school so shecould provide for her family. and ithinklifting up families like his own became the story of bill clinton’slife. he remembered what hismom had todo on behalf of him and he wanted to make sure that he made life better andeasierfor so many people all across the country that were struggling in thosesame ways and had thosesame hopes and dreams. so as a governor, he transformed education so more kids couldpursuethose dreams. as president, he provedthat, with the right choices, you could grow theeconomy, lift people out ofpoverty. we could shrink our deficitsand still invest in our families,our health, our schools, science,technology. in other words, we can gofarther when we look outfor each other.
and as we’ve all seen, aspresident, he was just getting started. he doesn’t stop. he’s helpedleadrelief efforts after the asian tsunami, hurricane katrina, the haiti earthquake. hisfoundation and global initiative havehelped to save or improve the lives of literally hundredsof millions ofpeople. and, of course, i am mostgrateful for his patience during the endlesstravels of my secretary ofstate. (laughter.)
so i’m grateful, bill, as wellfor the advice and counsel that you’ve offered me on and offthe golfcourse. (laughter.) and most importantly, for your lifesavingwork around the world,which represents what’s the very best in america. so thank you so much, president clinton. (applause.)
so these are the recipients ofthe 2019 presidential medal of freedom. these are the menand women who in their extraordinary lives remind usall of the beauty of the human spirit,the values that define us as americans,the potential that lives inside of all of us. i could notbe more happy and more honored to participate in thisceremony here today.
with that, what i would like todo is invite our honorees to just sit there and let all of usstand and giveyou a big round of applause. (applause.)
i guess we should actually givethem the medals, though. (laughter.) where are my --herewe go. lee, you want to hit it?
military aide: presidential medal of freedom recipients.
ernie banks. (applause.) with an unmatched enthusiasm for america’s pastime, erniebanks slugged,sprinted and smiled his way into the record books. known to fans as “mr. cub,”he played anextraordinary 19 seasons with the chicago cubs, during which he was named to11all-star teams, hit over 500 home runs, and won back-to-back most valuableplayer honors.ernie banks was electedto the baseball hall of fame in 1977, and he will forever be known asone ofthe finest power hitters and most dynamic players of all time. (applause.)
benjamin crowninshieldbradlee. (applause.) a titan of journalism, benjamincrowninshieldbradlee is one of the most respected newsmen of his generation. after servingour nation in world war ii, benbradlee went on to defend liberty here at home. testing thelimits of a freepress during his tenure as executive editor of the washington post, heoversawcoverage of the watergate scandal and successfully challenged the federalgovernmentover the right to publish the pentagon papers. his passion foraccuracy and unyielding pursuitof truth continue to set the standard forjournalism. (applause.)
the honorable william j.clinton. (applause.) among the finest public servants of ourtime,president william j. clinton argued cases for the people of arkansas, servedhis state in thegovernor’s mansion, and guided our nation into a newcentury. as the 42nd president oftheunited states, bill clinton oversaw an era of challenge and change, prosperityand progress.his work after leavingpublic office continues to reflect his passionate, unendingcommitment toimproving the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. in respondingto needs both at home andabroad, and as founder of the clinton foundation, he has shown thatthroughcreative cooperation among women and men of goodwill, we can solve eventhemost intractable problems. (applause.)
irene hirano inouye, accepting onbehalf of her husband, the honorable daniel k. inouye. (applause.) a true patriot and dedicated public servant, daniel k. inouye understoodthepower of leaders when united in common purpose to protect and promote thetenets wecherish as americans. as amember of the revered 442nd regimental combat team, danielinouye helped freeeurope from the grasp of tyranny during world war ii, for which he receivedthemedal of honor. representing the peopleof hawaii from the moment the islands joined theunion, he never lost sight ofthe ideals that bind us across the 50 states. senator inouye’sreason and resolve helped make our country what it is today,and for that, we honor him. (applause.)
dr. daniel kahneman. (applause.) daniel kahneman’s groundbreaking work earned him anobel prize ineconomic sciences for his research developing prospect theory. after escapingfrom nazi-occupied france as ayoung boy and later joining the israel defense forces, dr.kahneman grewinterested in understanding the origins of people’s beliefs. combiningpsychology and economic analysis,and working alongside dr. amos tversky, dr. kahnemanused simple experiments todemonstrate how people make decisions under uncertaincircumstances, and heforever changed the way we view human judgment. (applause.)
the honorable richard g.lugar. (applause.) representing the state of indiana for overthreedecades in the united states senate, richard g. lugar put country aboveparty and self toforge bipartisan consensus. throughout his time in the senate, he offered effective solutionsto ournational and international problems, advocating for the control of nuclear armsand otherweapons of mass destruction. working with senator sam nunn, richard lugar establishedthe nunn-lugarcooperative threat reduction program, one of our country’s mostsuccessfulnational security initiatives, helping to sustain american leadership andengagenations in collaboration after decades of confrontation. he remains a strong voice on foreignpolicyissues, and his informed perspective will have broad influence for years tocome. (applause.)
loretta lynn. (applause.) born a coal miner’s daughter, loretta lynn has followed a boldpath tobecome a legend in country music. asinger, songwriter, and author, she has writtendozens of chart-topping songs,released scores of albums, and won numerous accolades.breaking barriers in country music andentertainment, she opened doors for women not only bywinning tremendousachievements, but also by raising issues few dared to discuss. fearlesslytelling her own stories withcandor and humor, loretta lynn has brought a strong female voiceto mainstreammusic, captured the emotions of women and men alike, and revealed thecommontruths about life as it is lived. (applause.)
dr. mario molina. (applause.) the curiosity and creativity that inspired mario molina toconvert hisfamily’s bathroom into a laboratory as a child have driven him through decadesofscientific research. born in mexico,dr. molina’s passion for chemistry brought him to the unitedstates, where hisinvestigations of chlorofluorocarbons led to breakthroughs in ourunderstandingof how they deplete the ozone layer. theimpact of his discoveries extends farbeyond his field, affecting environmentalpolicy and fostering international awareness, as wellas earning him the 1995nobel prize in chemistry. today, dr.molina remains a global leader,continuing to study air quality, climatechange, and the environment that connects us all. (applause.)
tam o’shaughnessy accepting onbehalf of her life partner, dr. sally k. ride. (applause.)thirty years ago, dr.sally k. ride soared into space as the youngest american and first womantowear the stars and stripes above earth’s atmosphere. as an astronaut, she sought to keepamericaat the forefront of space exploration. as a role model, she fought tirelessly to inspireyoung people --especially girls -- to become scientifically literate and to pursue careersinscience, technology, engineering, and math. at the end of her life, she became aninspiration for those battlingpancreatic cancer, and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgendercommunity. the tale of a quiet hero,sally ride’s story demonstrates that the sky isno limit for those who dream ofreaching for the stars. (applause.)
walter naegle accepting on behalfof his partner, bayard rustin. (applause.) bayard rustinwas agiant in the american civil rights movement. openly gay at a time when many had tohide who they loved, hisunwavering belief that we are all equal members of a “single humanfamily” tookhim from his first freedom ride to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenderrightsmovement. thanks to hisunparalleled skills as an organizer, progress that once seemedimpossibleappears, in retrospect, to have been inevitable. fifty years after the march onwashington heorganized, america honors bayard rustin as one of its greatest architectsforsocial change and a fearless advocate for its most vulnerable citizens. (applause.)
arturo sandoval. (applause.) arturo sandoval is one of the world’s finest jazz musicians.born into poverty in cuba and held back byhis government, he risked everything to share hisgifts with the world --eventually defecting with help from dizzy gillespie, his mentorandfriend. in the decades since, thisastonishing trumpeter, pianist, and composer hasinspired audiences in everycorner of the world and awakened a new generation of greatperformers. he remains one of the best ever to play. (applause.)
linnea smith, accepting on behalfof her husband, dean e. smith. (applause.) dean e.smith spent36 seasons taking college basketball to new heights. as head coach at theuniversity of northcarolina at chapel hill, he led his team to 11 final fours, two nationaltitles,and 879 victories, retiring as the winningest men’s college basketballcoach in history. deansmith brought thesame commitment to supporting his players off the court. he helped morethan 96 percent of hislettermen graduate. and in an era ofdeep division, he taught players toovercome bigotry with courage andcompassion. he will forever stand as oneof the greatestcoaches in college basketball history. (applause.)
gloria steiner. (applause.) a trailblazing writer and feminist organizer, gloria steinem hasbeen atthe forefront of the fight for equality and social justice for more than fourdecades.instrumental to a broad rangeof initiatives and issues, from establishing ms. magazine and takeourdaughters to work day, to pushing for women’s self-empowerment and an end tosextrafficking. she has promotedlasting political and social change in america and abroad.through her reporting and speaking, she hasshaped debates on the intersection of sex and race,brought critical problemsto national attention, and forged new opportunities for women inmedia. gloria steinem continues to move us all totake up the cause of reaching for a more justtomorrow. (applause.)
reverend c.t. vivian. (applause.) equipped only with courage and an overwhelmingcommitment to socialjustice, the reverend c.t. vivian was a stalwart activist on the marchtowardracial equality. whether at a lunchcounter, on a freedom ride, or behind the bars of aprison cell, he wasunafraid to take bold action in the face of fierce resistance. by pushingchange through nonviolentdemonstration and advocacy, c.t. vivian established and lednumerousorganizations to support underserved individuals and communities. his legacy ofcombating injustice will shineas an example for generations to come. (applause.)
patricia mcgowan wald. (applause.) patricia mcgowan wald made history as the first womanappointed to theunited states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. rising tochief judge of the court, shealways strove to better understand the law and fairly apply it.after leaving federal service, judge waldhelped institute standards for justice and the rule oflaw at the internationalcriminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia in the hague. hailed as amodel judge, she laid afoundation for countless women within the legal profession and helpedunveilthe humanity within the law. (applause.)
oprah g. winfrey. (applause.) oprah g. winfrey is a global media icon. when she launchedthe oprah winfrey show in 1986, there were few women-- and even fewer women of color --with a national platform to discuss theissues and events shaping our times. butover the 25years that followed, oprah winfrey’s innate gift for tapping intoour most fervent hopes anddeepest fears drew millions of viewers across everybackground, making her show the highest-rated talk show in televisionhistory. off screen, oprah winfrey hasused her influence to supportunderserved communities and to lift up the livesof young people -- especially young women --around the world. in her story, we are reminded that no dreamcan be deferred when we refuseto let life’s obstacles keep us down. (applause.)
the president: the medal of freedom honorees -- please. (applause.)
well, that concludes the formalpart of today’s ceremony. i want tothank all of you forbeing here. obviously,we are deeply indebted to those who we honor here today. and we’regoing to have an opportunity totake some pictures with the honorees and their familymembers.
the rest of you, i understand thefood here is pretty good. (laughter.) soi hope you enjoythe reception, and i hope we carry away from this a reminderof what jfk understood to be theessence of the american spirit -- that it’srepresented here. and some of us may belesstalented, but we all have the opportunity to serve and to open people’shearts and minds inour smaller orbits. so i hope everybody has been as inspired, as i have been, participatingandbeing with these people here today.
thank you very much,everybody. (applause.)
第4篇 奥巴马总统、第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马2019年圣诞节英语演讲稿
the president: hello everybody, and happy holidays.
the first lady: we know how busy this time of year is for everyone, so we’re not going totake much of your time.
but we did want to take a moment to wish you all a merry christmas, from our family to yours.
the president: this is a season for millions of americans to be together with family, tocontinue long-held holiday traditions, and to show our gratitude to those we love. and alongthe way, some of us might even watch a little basketball or eat some christmas cookies, too.
the first lady: here at the white house, over the past few weeks, we’ve had about 70,000people from all across the country come visit us and look at our holiday decorations.
this year’s theme was “gather around: stories of the season.”
and in every room of the house, we tried to tell a story about who we are as americans and howwe celebrate the holidays together.
and we made certain to highlight some of the most powerful stories we know—the stories ofour outstanding troops, veterans, and military families and their service and sacrifice for ourcountry.
the president: our extraordinary men and women in uniform are serving so that therest of us can enjoy the blessings we cherish during the holidays. but that means many of ourtroops are far from home and far from family. they’re spending some extra time on the phonewith their loved ones back home. or they’re setting up video chats so they can watch as thepresents are opened. so today, we want all of our troops to know that you’re in our thoughtsand prayers this holiday season.
and here’s the good news: for many of our troops and newest veterans, this might be the firsttime in years that they’ve been with their families on christmas. in fact, with the iraq war overand the transition in afghanistan, fewer of our men and women in uniform are deployed inharm’s way than at any time in the last decade.
the first lady: and that’s something we all can be thankful for.
and with more and more of our troops back here at home, now it’s our turn to serve—it’s ourturn to step up and show our gratitude for the military families who have given us so much.
and that’s why jill biden and i started our joining forces initiative—to rally all americans tosupport our military families in ways large and small.
and again and again, we have been overwhelmed by the response we’ve gotten as folks fromacross the country have found new ways to give back to these families through their schools,businesses, and houses of worship.
the president: that’s the same spirit of giving that connects all of us during the holidays.so many people all across the country are helping out at soup kitchens, buying gifts for childrenin need, or organizing food or clothing drives for their neighbors. for families like ours, thatservice is a chance to celebrate the birth of christ and live out what he taught us – to love ourneighbors as we would ourselves; to feed the hungry and look after the sick; to be our brother’skeeper and our sister’s keeper. and for all of us as americans, regardless of our faith, those arevalues that can drive us to be better parents and friends, better neighbors and better citizens.
the first lady: so as we look to the new year, let’s pledge ourselves to living out thosevalues by reaching out and lifting up those in our communities who could use a hand up.
the president: so merry christmas, everyone. and from the two of us, as well as malia,sasha, grandma, bo…
the first lady: and sunny, the newest obama.
the president: we wish you all a blessed and safe holiday season.
the first lady: happy holidays everybody, and god bless.
第5篇 奥巴马总统在加州著名动画公司＂梦工厂＂的英语演讲稿
the president: hello, everybody! (applause.) oh, it is good to be in l.a.! (applause.)it is colder in d.c.at the moment, colder in chicago, and 70-degree weather is something tobethankful for.
and it is great to be atdreamworks animation. i would like towork here. (laughter.) i haveasked jeffrey. the only concern i had was the lights werekind of dim in the offices and -- (laughter) -- i’m pretty sure i’d fallasleep. but there’s a natural connectionbetween me anddreamworks. i don’t knowif you know this, but my ears were one of the inspirations for “shrek.” (laughter.) that’s true. true story.
mellody was being very modestwhen she said she had a front-row seat. mellody was one ofmy earliest supporters back when nobody couldpronounce my name. and her and johnrogers atarial capital helped to co-chair some of my first fundraisers. andthey’d have to drag somestraggly group in, kicking and screaming, and write acheck and listen to this young senatorwho had a lot of ideas but notnecessarily any realistic prospects to win. and she went througha lot of ups and downs with me and my career and isjust a great, great friend. so i wanttothank her publicly for all the support that she’s given us. (applause.)
we’ve got some folks here who arefighting for the people of southern california every singleday and i just wantto acknowledge them. we’ve got the mayorof glendale, dave weaver. (applause.) we’vegot three of your outstanding members of congress -- brad sherman, adamschiff,karen bass. they are all doing a greatjob. (applause.)
i want to thank all of you forbeing here. and i want to thank yourceo, jeffrey katzenberg,for inviting me. (applause.) jeffrey, like mellody, has been a friend and a supporterthroughthick and thin. and i think hisplace in the entertainment industry is legendary -- i don’t needto puff him uptoo much. (laughter.) he has a healthy sense of self. (laughter.) but he is agreat friend and somebody whose counsel and advice i value.and i’m incredibly grateful to behere at this wonderful institution that hehelped to build
and i’ve come here today becausethis is one of america’s economic engines. not justdreamworks, but this whole cluster of companies thatgenerations have grown up knowing --disney and warner and universal andothers. when you think about it, whatfinance is to newyork, what the auto industry is to the midwest, what technologyis to northern california,entertainment is to this part of the country.
and most of us have spent a lotof time thinking about our favorite movies or tv shows, butwe don’t oftenthink about the entire infrastructure and industry behind the scenes. hundreds ofthousands of middle-class jobs --they’re not always on the marquee -- jobs for electricians, andcarpenters, andsound mixers, and makeup artists, and designers, and animators depend onthisincredible industry here in southern california.
entertainment is one of america’sbiggest exports. and every day, you sella product that’smade in america to the rest of the world. every time somebody buys movie tickets, ordvds, ordistribution rights to a film, some of that money goes back to thelocal economy right here.
and believe it or not,entertainment is part of our american diplomacy. it’s part of whatmakes us exceptional, partof what makes us such a world power. youcan go anywhere on theplanet and you’ll see a kid wearing a “madagascar”t-shirt. (laughter.) you can say, “maytheforce be with you” -- they know what you’re talking about. (laughter.)
hundreds of millions of peoplemay never set foot in the united states, but thanks to you,they’ve experienceda small part of what makes our country special. they’ve learned somethingabout our values. we have shaped a world culture through you.
and the stories that we telltransmit values and ideals about tolerance and diversity andovercomingadversity, and creativity that are part of our dna. and as a consequence of whatyou’ve done, youhelped shape the world’s culture in a way that has made the world better.
they might not know thegettysburg address, but if they’re watching some old movie,maybe “guess who’scoming to dinner,” or “the mary tyler moore show,” or “will and grace”and“modern family,” they’ve had a front-row seat to our march towards progress,even if theirown nations haven’t made that progress yet. and young people in countries all around theworldsuddenly make a connection and have an affinity to people who don’t looklike them and maybeoriginally they might have been fearful of, and nowsuddenly they say, oh, this person is likeme -- which is one of the powers ofart, but that’s what you transmit.
and that is a remarkablelegacy. now, it’s also a bigresponsibility. when it comes toissueslike gun violence, we’ve got to make sure that we’re not glorifying it, becausethe storiesyou tell shape our children’s outlook and their lives. earlier this year, leaders from this townsatdown with vice president biden to talk about what hollywood could do to helpkeep our kidssafe. this was in the wakeof sandy hook. and those conversationsneed to continue. the storieswe tellmatter. and you tell stories morepowerfully than anybody else on the earth.
but i want to make clear, even aswe think long and hard about the messages we send, weshould never waver fromour commitment to the freedom that allows us to tell those storiessowell. protecting our first amendmentrights are vital to who we are. and it’salso goodbusiness, because in the global race for jobs and industries, thething we do better thananybody else is creativity. that’s something that can’t be copied. it’s one of the reasons whyeven with newmarkets and new technologies, there’s still no better place to make moviesandtelevision and music than right here in the united states.
entertainment is one of thebright spots of our economy. the gapbetween what we can doand what other countries can do is enormous.
audience member: woo!
the president: yes, that’s worth cheering for. (applause.) and that means that we’vegot todo what it takes to make sure that this industry, and every great americanindustry, keepsthat competitive edge so that more folks can find career pathslike many of you have, and getgood middle-class jobs that allow you to supporta family and get ahead.
nothing is more important thanthat right now. and as mellodymentioned, when i came intooffice, we were going through a severe crisis. five years later, america has largely foughtourway back. we’ve made the toughchoices required not just to help the economy recover, but torebuild it on anew foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth.
we refocused on manufacturing andexports, and today, our businesses sell more goods andservices made in thiscountry to the rest of the world than ever before. our manufacturers areadding jobs for thefirst time since the 1990s, led by an american auto industry that’scomeroaring back. american cars are reallygood now. (laughter.)
we decided to reverse ourdependence on foreign oil. so today, wegenerate more renewableenergy than ever -- doubled our renewable energy --more natural gas than anybody. for thefirsttime in nearly 20 years, america now produces more of our own oil than webuy from othercountries. it’s goodnews. (applause.)
when i took office, americainvested far less than countries like china did in wirelessinfrastructure andwe’ve now narrowed that gap, and we have helped companies unleash jobsandinnovation and become a booming app economy that’s created hundreds ofthousands ofjobs. six years ago, only 5percent of the world’s smartphones ran on american operatingsystems. today, more than 80 percent do. (applause.)
and, yes, we decided to fix abroken health care system. (applause.) and it’s interesting-- iwas talking to some of the studio execs here, and i said, look, therollout of the new health caremarketplace was rough and nobody was morefrustrated about the problems with our websitethan i am. and yet, here in southern california and hereacross this state, there are thousandsof people every single day who are gettinghealth care for the first time -- for the first time --because of this. (applause.) and, by the way, the website is continually working better, socheck itout. (laughter.)
but as a country, we’re nowpoised to gain health coverage for millions of americans,starting on january1st, and that includes more than 350,000 here in california who havealreadysigned up. and thanks in part to theaffordable care act, health care costs are growing atthe slowest rate in 50years. employer-based health care costsare growing at about one-third therate of a decade ago. and that means that if the studios here oryour employers aren’t havingto spend as much on health care, they can hiremore folks and reinvest more in the business,and come up with those cooltechnologies that -- i don’t exactly understand how they work, but--(laughter) -- were really neat to look at. (laughter.)
and, by the way, we’ve done allthis while bringing down our deficits. (applause.) after yearsoftrillion-dollar deficits, we reined in spending. you would think sometimes listening to folksinwashington that we haven’t made any progress on that front. we wound down two wars. wechanged a tax code that was too skewedtowards the wealthiest americans at the expense of themiddle class. you add it all up, we’ve cut our deficits bymore than half, and they continue to godown faster than any time since worldwar ii. (applause.)
so all told, our businessescreated 7.8 million new jobs over the past 44 months. americahas gone farther, recovered fasterthan most other industrialized nations. but, as mellody said,we’ve got more work to do. the stock market is doing great, corporateprofits soaring, but toomany americans aren’t sharing in that success. and everybody here who works at dreamworks--a really good place to work. i’m goingto ask jeff if maybe i can work here. (applause.) but allof you havefriends and family and neighbors who aren’t as lucky. and you know there are still alot of folkswho are struggling out there. and my top priority is making sure that thiscountryremains a country where everybody who is willing to work hard can getahead.
and we’d be a lot further alongwithout some of the dysfunction and obstruction we’veseen in washington. (applause.) we would be a lot further along if we could just get folks to actwithsome sense -- (laughter) -- if we didn’t have one wing of one party that was alittle lessobsessed with repealing health care for 40 million people, moreconcerned with making surethe law works. if they hadn’t spent 40 votes trying to repeal the affordable care act,theymight have actually taken some votes on rebuilding our infrastructure, orinstituting earlychildhood education for young people across this country, orinvesting more money in basicresearch that helps to create the amazingtechnologies that many of you utilize. any of theserious proposals i’ve put forward that would be creatingjobs right now, they could have beentaking votes on that.
instead of rooting for failure,or refighting old battles, republicans in congress need to workwith us toimprove those things about the affordable care act that aren’t working as wellas theyshould, and implement policies to strengthen the middle class andcreate jobs. (applause.)
a couple of weeks ago, houserepublican leaders handed out a piece of paper to theirmembers and on the topit said, “agenda 2019.” i’m not makingthis up. below that, it wasblank. (laughter.) it was a blank sheet of paper -- nothing to create jobs or grow theeconomyor strengthen the middle class.
and i’ve put forward my plans tocreate new jobs and even the odds for the middle class.and i’ve put forward plans that gives somerepublicans some of the things that they want inexchange for ideas that willcreate good jobs right now. and so far,they won’t consider them.
some people have heard me say mylist of top five movies -- “the godfather,” one and two,have to be on it. but it turns out marlon brando had it easy,because when it comes to congress,there’s no such thing as an “offer they can’trefuse.” (laughter.) i mean, i just keep on comingback. (laughter.) i’m going to keep on trying, though. (laughter.) i am, because we’vegot nochoice. (applause.)
the american people agree with usthat jobs, growing the economy should be our number-one priority. and we’ve got to make some investments tomake that happen. and we’ve got togivea better bargain to the middle class and everybody who is working to join themiddle class.and that means building onthose cornerstones of what makes for a strong middle class -- goodjobs, a goodeducation, a home of your own, health care when you get sick, a secureretirementeven if you’re not rich. sowe can help manufacturers bring more jobs back to america byinvesting inamerican clean-energy technology, and putting people to work building roadsandbridges and schools and high-speed broadband networks that attract businessesfrom aroundthe world.
we can prepare our children andour workers for the global competition that they’ll face --expandinghigh-quality preschool education, redesigning our high schools, investingincommunity colleges and job training, and tackling rising college costs, so thatyoung peoplecan afford it. we can helpresponsible homeowners afford a mortgage or refinancing at today’slow rates,help build a rock-solid housing system for decades to come, instead of boom andbust.
we can bring the promise of asecure retirement back to reach for middle-class families,finding new ways tomake it easier for workers to save, and strengthening social security,andgetting immigration reform done so that undocumented workers are paying theirfair shareof taxes, but they’re not living in the shadows -- (applause) -- andwe’re attracting the best andthe brightest from all around the world.
as i was getting a tour ofdreamworks, i didn’t ask, but just looking at faces, i could tellthere weresome folks who are here not because they were born here, but because they wanttobe here and they bring extraordinary talents to the united states. and that’s part of whatmakes americaspecial. and that’s part of what, by theway, makes california special, because it’salways been this magnet of dreamersand strivers. and people coming fromevery directionsaying to themselves, you know, if i work hard there i can havemy piece of the americandream.
we’re going to continue to makeprogress on all those fronts. and, yes,we are going tocontinue to implement the health care law. the product is good. people want it. and we shouldnot live in a country wherepeople are going bankrupt just because they get sick. and anybodywho is going to keep on pushingagainst that, they will meet my resistance, because i amwilling to fix anyproblems that there are, but i’m not going to abandon people to make surethatthey’ve got health insurance in this country. that is not something we’re going to do. (applause.) and the good news is,as i said, thousands of californians are already signing up.
i read a really powerful storyover the weekend i just want to mention about uninsured folksin kentucky whoare signing up in droves in one of the poorest counties in the country. some ofthem can’t imagine what having healthinsurance would be like. and you read thesestories andyou realize how important it is for folks in kentucky -- a state,by the way, that did not vote forme -- (laughter) -- and if kentucky can doit, than every state should be able to do it.
we should be able to expandmedicaid all across the country. there are millions of peoplewho, right now,even under the law, may not get health care that they deserve becausetheirgovernors have refused to do it just for political reasons -- expandingmedicaid. fortunately,california,obviously, is not one of them. but thisis a fight that we’re going to keep fighting,because it’s worth fighting. and that’s what mellody referred to.
it’s true. i’m not an ideological guy, but there aresome things i really believe in. andpart ofwhat i believe in is that the essence of this country, what makes thisplace special, is this ideathat hollywood is glorified and held up, but iactually think it’s true that here, more thananyplace else, no matter what youlook like, where you come from, what your last name is, whoyou love, youshould be able to make it if you’re willing to work hard. that’s what i believe. (applause.)
and there’s certain values thatmake that a reality. i have my critics,obviously, but sincewere here in hollywood, i want to think about somethingthat the late, great chicago film critic,robert [roger] ebert said -- and iwas fortunate to get to know roger ebert and was alwaysinspired by how hehandled some really tough stuff. “kindness,” he wrote, “covers all of mypolitical beliefs.” kindness covers all of my political beliefs.
and when i think about what i’mfighting for, what gets me up every single day, thatcaptures it just about asmuch as anything. kindness; empathy --that sense that i have astake in your success; that i’m going to make sure,just because malia and sasha are doingwell, that’s not enough -- i want yourkids to do well also. and i’m willing tohelp to build goodschools so that they get a great education, even if mine arealready getting a great education.
and i’m going to invest ininfrastructure and building things like the golden gate bridgeand the hooverdam and the internet -- (laughter) -- because i’m investing for thenextgeneration, not just this one. and that’swhat binds us together, and that’s how we’vealways moved forward, based on theidea that we have a stake in each other’s success. andthat’s what drives me. and that’s what will continue to drive me.
i believe that every kid shouldhave opportunity. i believe ourdaughters should have thesame opportunities as our sons. i believe that jeffrey’s kids should be ableto aspire to whateverthey can dream of, but i also want to make sure that theperson who’s cleaning up jeffrey’soffice, that their kid has that samepossibility.
and we may have different ideasand different policies on how to do things, but thatshouldn’t negate that thatcore vision is what we’re fighting for, and we should be able to sitdowntogether and to keep dreaming and keep working, and to make sure that theamericandream that’s been described here in southern california is sustainedfor generations to come.
and what’s stopping us is notpolicy details; it’s not technical issues. it’s to summon thecourage to put politics aside once in a while and rememberthat we’ve got more in common thanour politics would suggest. and as long as i’ve got the privilege ofserving as your president,that’s what i’m going to keep on making sure that ido -- to put politics aside once in a whileand work on your behalf. (applause.)
so, thank you, dreamworks, forwhat you do. (applause.) thank you, jeffrey, foryourhospitality. god bless you. god bless america. (applause.) can’t wait to see your nextmovie. (applause.)
第6篇 奥巴马总统在白宫玫瑰园就《平价医疗法案》英语演讲稿
the president: everybody, have a seat.
ms. baker: hello. my name is janice baker. i havethe privilege to say that i'm the firstperson in the state of delaware to enrollfor health insurance through the new marketplace. (applause.) like many consumers out there, it took me a number of frustratingattempts beforei could apply for and select my plan. i kept trying because i needed access to thenew healthcare options.
i had applied to three privateinsurance companies only to be rejected due to preexistinghealthconditions. i am too young for medicare,but i'm too old not to have some health issues. iwas able to find a policy i am thrilled with, saving $150 a month, andmuch lower deductiblesthan my previous policy that i held through my smallbusiness.
i'm here today to encourage otherpeople like me who needs access to quality, affordableinsurance, and to tellthem to have patience with such a new system. without this ability toget this insurance, iknow that a single hospital stay could have bankrupted me and mybusiness.
thank you all. and i am now honored to introduce thepresident of the united states. (applause.)
the president: great job.
ms. baker: thank you. thank you.
the president: thank you. (applause.) thank you,everybody. well, thank you, janice.and thanks to everybody here for coming onthis beautiful day. welcome to the whitehouse.
about three weeks ago, as thefederal government shut down, the affordable care act'shealth insurancemarketplaces opened for business across the country. well, we've now gottenthe government backopen for the american people, and today i want to talk about how we'regoing toget the marketplaces running at full steam, as well. and i'm joined today by folks whohave eitherbenefited from the affordable care act already, or who are helping theirfellowcitizens learn about what this law means for them and how they can get covered.
of course, you've probably heardthat healthcare.gov –- the new website where people canapply for healthinsurance, and browse and buy affordable plans in most states –- hasn'tworkedas smoothly as it was supposed to work. and the number of people who have visitedthe site has beenoverwhelming, which has aggravated some of these underlying problems.
despite all that, thousands ofpeople are signing up and saving money as we speak. manyamericans with a preexisting condition,like janice, are discovering that they can finally gethealth insurance likeeverybody else.
so today, i want to speak toevery american who's looking to get affordable healthinsurance. i want you to know what's available to youand why it may be a good deal for you.and for those who've had some problems with the website, i want to tellyou what we're doingto make it work better and how you can sign up to getcovered in other ways.
but before i do that, let meremind everybody that the affordable care act is not just awebsite. it's much more. for the vast majority of americans -- for 85percent of americanswho already have health insurance through your employer ormedicare or medicaid -– you don'tneed to sign up for coverage through awebsite at all. you've already gotcoverage. what theaffordable care actdoes for you is to provide you with new benefits and protections that havebeenin place for some time. you may not knowit, but you're already benefiting from theseprovisions in the law.
for example, because of theaffordable care act, young people like jasmine jennings, andjessica ugalde,and ezra salop, all of whom are here today, they've been able to stay ontheirparents' plans until they're 26. millions of other young people are currently benefiting fromthat part ofthe law. (applause.) another part of the affordable care act isproviding seniors withdeeper discounts on their prescription medicine. billions of dollars have been saved byseniorsalready. that's part of thelaw. it's already in place. it's happening right now.
already, because of theaffordable care act, preventive care like mammograms and birthcontrol are freethrough your employers. that's part ofthis law. (applause.) so there are a widerange of consumerprotections and benefits that you already have if you've got healthinsurance.you may not have noticedthem, but you've got them, and they're not going anywhere. andthey're not dependent on a website.
here's another thing that theaffordable care act does. in stateswhere governors andlegislatures have wisely allowed it, the affordable careact provides the opportunity for manyamericans to get covered under medicaidfor the first time. so in oregon, forexample, that'shelped cut the number of uninsured people by 10 percent just inthe last three weeks. thinkaboutthat. that's 56,000 more americans whonow have health care. (applause.) that doesn'tdepend on a website.
now, if you're one of the 15percent of americans who don't have health insurance -- eitherbecause you can'tafford it or because your employer doesn't offer it, or because you're asmallbusinessperson and you have to go out on the individual market and buy it onyour ownand it's just too expensive -- october 1st was an important date. that's when we opened thenew marketplaceswhere people without health insurance, or who can't afford healthinsurance, orwho aren't part of a group plan, can finally start getting affordable coverage.
and the idea is simple. by enrolling in what we're calling thesemarketplaces, you becomepart of a big group plan -- as if you were working fora big employer -- a statewide group planthat spreads risk between sick peopleand healthy people, between young and old, and thenbargains on your behalf forthe best deal on health care. what we'vedone is essentially create acompetition where there wasn't competitionbefore. we created these big groupplans, and nowinsurers are really interested in getting your business. and so insurers have created new healthcareplans with more choices to be made available through these marketplaces.
and as a result of this choiceand this competition, prices have come down. when you addthe new tax credits that many people are eligible forthrough the law, then the prices comedown even further. so one study shows that through new optionscreated by the affordable careact, nearly 6 in 10 uninsured americans willfind that they can get covered for less than $100 amonth. think about that. (applause.)
through the marketplaces, you canget health insurance for what may be the equivalentof your cell phone bill oryour cable bill, and that's a good deal.
so the fact is the product of theaffordable care act for people without health insurance isquality healthinsurance that's affordable. and thatproduct is working. it's reallygood. and itturns out there's a massivedemand for it. so far, the nationalwebsite, healthcare.gov, has beenvisited nearly 20 million times. twenty million times. (applause.) and there's great demand atthe state level as well, because there are abunch of states that are running their ownmarketplaces.
we know that nearly one-third ofthe people applying in connecticut and maryland, forexample, are under 35years old. they understand that they canget a good deal at low costs,have the security of health care, and this is notjust for old folks like me -- that everybodyneeds good quality healthinsurance. and all told, more than halfa million consumers across thecountry have successfully submitted applicationsthrough federal and state marketplaces. andmany of those applications aren't just for individuals, it's fortheir entire families. so evenmorepeople are already looking to potentially take advantage of the high quality,affordableinsurance that is provided through the affordable care act.
so let me just recap here. the product is good. the health insurance that's being providedisgood. it's high quality and it'saffordable. people can save money,significant money, bygetting insurance that's being provided through thesemarketplaces. and we know thatthedemand is there. people are rushing tosee what's available. and those who havealready hada chance to enroll are thrilled with the result. every day, people who were stuck withsky-highpremiums because of preexisting conditions are getting affordableinsurance for the first time, orfinding, like janice did, that they're savinga lot of money. every day, women arefinally buyingcoverage that doesn't charge them higher premiums than men forthe same care. (applause.)every day, people are discovering that newhealth insurance plans have to cover maternitycare, mental health care, freepreventive care.
so you just heard janice's story-- she owns her own small business. sherecently became thefirst woman to enroll in coverage through delaware'sexchange. and it's true, it took her afewtries, but it was worth it after being turned down for insurance threetimes due to minorpreexisting conditions. so now she'll be covered, she'll save 150 bucks a month, and shewon'thave to worry that one illness or accident will cost her her business that she'sworked sohard to build.
and janice is not alone. i recently received a letter from a womannamed jessica sanford inwashington state. and here's what she wrote: “i ama single mom, no child support, self-employed, and i haven't had insurance for15 years because it's too expensive. myson hasadhd and requires regular doctor visits and his meds alone cost $250per month. i have had anongoingtendinitis problem due to my line of work that i haven't had treated. now, finally, weget to have coverage becauseof the aca for $169 per month. i wascrying the other day when isigned up. somuch stress lifted.”
now, that is not untypical for alot of folks like jessica who have been struggling withouthealthinsurance. that's what the affordablecare act is all about. the point is, theessence of thelaw -- the health insurance that's available to people -- isworking just fine. in somecases,actually, it's exceeding expectations -- the prices are lower than we expected,the choice isgreater than we expected.
but the problem has been that the website that'ssupposed to make it easy to apply for andpurchase the insurance is not workingthe way it should for everybody. andthere's nosugarcoating it. the websitehas been too slow, people have been getting stuck during theapplicationprocess. and i think it's fair to saythat nobody is more frustrated by that than i am -- precisely because theproduct is good, i want the cash registers to work. i want the checkoutlines to be smooth. so i want people to be able to get this greatproduct. and there's no excusefor theproblems, and these problems are getting fixed.
but while we're working out the kinks in thesystem, i want everybody to understand thenature of the problem. first of all, even with all the problems athealthcare.gov, the website isstill working for a lot of people -- just not asquick or efficient or consistent as we want. andalthough many of these folks have found that they had to wait longerthan they wanted, oncethey complete the process they're very happy with thedeal that's available to them, just likejanice's.
second, i want everybody toremember that we're only three weeks into a six-month openenrollment period,when you can buy these new plans. (applause.) keep in mind theinsurancedoesn't start until january 1st; that's the earliest that theinsurance can kick in. no one whodecidesto purchase a plan has to pay their first premium until december 15th. and unlike theday after thanksgiving salesfor the latest playstation or flat-screen tvs, the insurance plansdon't runout. they're not going to sell out. they'll be available through the marketplace-- (applause) -- throughout the open enrollment period. the prices that insurers have set willnotchange. so everybody who wants insurancethrough the marketplace will get insurance,period. (applause.) everybody who wants insurance through the marketplace will getinsurance.
third, we are doing everything wecan possibly do to get the websites working better, faster,sooner. we've got people working overtime, 24/7, toboost capacity and address the problems.experts from some of america's top private-sector tech companies who, bythe way, have seenthings like this happen before, they want it to work. they're reaching out. they're offering tosend help. we've had some of the best it talent in theentire country join the team. andwe'rewell into a “tech surge” to fix the problem. and we are confident that we will get all theproblems fixed.
number four -- while the websitewill ultimately be the easiest way to buy insurancethrough the marketplace, itisn't the only way. and i want toemphasize this. even as weredouble ourefforts to get the site working as well as it's supposed to, we're alsoredoubling ourefforts to make sure you can still buy the same quality,affordable insurance plans availableon the marketplace the old-fashioned way-- offline, either over the phone or in person.
and, by the way, there are a lotof people who want to take advantage of this who are morecomfortable workingon the phone anyway or in person. so letme go through the specifics as tohow you can do that if you're having problemswith the website or you just prefer dealing witha person.
yesterday, we updated the website'shome page to offer more information about the otheravenues to enroll inaffordable health care until the online option works for everybody. so you'llfind information about how to talkto a specialist who can help you apply over the phone or toreceive adownloadable application you can fill out yourself and mail in.
we've also added more staff tothe call centers where you can apply for insurance over thephone. those are already -- they've beenworking. but a lot of people havedecided first to go tothe website. butkeep in mind, these call centers are already up and running. and you can getyour questions answered byreal people, 24 hours a day, in 150 different languages. the phonenumber for these call centers is1-800-318-2596. i want to repeat that --1-800-318-2596. waittimes have averagedless than one minute so far on the call centers, although i admit that thewaittimes probably might go up a little bit now that i've read the number out loudon nationaltelevision. (laughter.)
but the point is the call centersare available. you can talk to somebodydirectly and theycan walk you through the application process. and i guarantee you, if one thing is worththewait, it's the safety and security of health care that you can afford, orthe amount of moneythat you can save by buying health insurance through themarketplaces. (applause.)
once you get on the phone with atrained representative, it usually takes about 25minutes for an individual toapply for coverage, about 45 minutes for a family. once you applyfor coverage, you will becontacted by email or postal mail about your coverage status.
but you don't have to just gothrough the phone. you can also apply inperson with the helpof local navigators -– these are people specially trainedto help you sign up for health care, andthey exist all across the country, oryou can go to community health centers and hospitals. justvisit localhelp.healthcare.gov to findout where in your area you can get help and apply forinsurance in person.
and finally, if you've alreadytried to apply through the website and you've been stucksomewhere along theway, do not worry. in the coming weeks,we will contact you directly,personally, with a concrete recommendation forhow you can complete your application,shop for coverage, pick a plan thatmeets your needs, and get covered once and for all.
so here's the bottom line. the product, the health insurance isgood. the prices are good.it is a good deal. people don't just want it; they're showing upto buy it. nobody is madder thanmeabout the fact that the website isn't working as well as it should, which meansit's going toget fixed. (laughter andapplause.)
