(引用CNN：http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/24/sotn.obama.transcript/)
2009年2月24日，歐巴馬上台後首度至國會報告，53分鐘26秒的演說，被掌聲打斷65次，其中37次是全場起立鼓掌，會後民調顯示，歐巴馬支持度攀升到68%，只比大選後最高峰略差一個百分點，諾貝爾經濟學獎得主Pull Krugman評論，歐巴馬演說中提出的預算案，告別了美國過去三十年的政策趨勢，‧‧‧‧原文長達六千一百七十二字的演說，清楚的預告了未來的世界將向「左」走。
趨勢一：大政府回來了
趨勢二：公平分配勝於成長
趨勢三：改革金融監督系統
趨勢四：產業結構調整
趨勢五：貿易保護主義再起
歐巴馬強調：對未來經濟極其攸關的三個領域進行投資：能源、醫療和教育。改革美國醫療保險制度，包括扶植生技醫療產業、將六千四百萬未納入健保的美國人全面納保，為全職父母家庭的1100萬名兒童提供醫療保險。
改革將牽動醫療商機，眾所周知，美國健保以昂貴聞名，每人年均醫療費用達五千美金，全國20%的民眾未納入保險，美國從小羅斯福總統到柯林頓都曾嘗試推動改革，但都因既得利益團體勢力龐大而失敗。
然眼前，不盡然是坦途，已有知名醫院聯盟磨刀霍霍，發起電視宣傳戰，希望阻止改革。
以下摘錄歐巴馬當日國會演說部分"醫療保健"政策：
The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform.
Regulations -- regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.
Now is the time to jump-start job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that is what I'd like to talk to you about tonight.
And Americans -- and Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage to help them weather this storm. Now I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work, and I understand that skepticism.
And for that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care.
This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four times faster than wages. And in each of these years, 1 million more Americans have lost their health insurance.
It is one of the major reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship jobs overseas. And it is one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of our budget.
Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can't afford to do it.
It's time.
Already, we've done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the last 30 days than we've done in the last decade. When it was days old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance for 11 million American children whose parents work full-time.
Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives.
It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American, including me, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time.
And -- and it makes the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that's one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.
This budget builds on these reforms. It includes a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform, a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It's a commitment
It's a commitment that's paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue, and it's a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come.
Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform. That's why I'm bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.
I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. Once again, it will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and our conscience long enough.
So let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.
