Now, as a country, we have a responsibility to encourage American innovation.  I talked about this quite a bit at my State of the Union.

Companies like yours have always driven the discovery of new products and new ideas.  You do it better than anybody.  But what you also know is that it’s not always profitable to -- in the short-term, at least -- for you to invest in basic research.  It’s very expensive, and the payoffs are not always clear and they’re not always localized.  And that’s why government has traditionally helped invest in this kind of science, planting the seeds that ultimately grew into technologies from the computer chips to the Internet.

That’s why we’re making investments today in the next generation of big ideas -– in biotechnology（生物技术） , in information technology and in clean energy technology.  We’re reforming our patent system so innovations can move more quickly to market.  Steve Case is heading up a new partnership called Startup America to help entrepreneurs turn new ideas into new businesses and new jobs.  And I’ve also proposed a bigger, permanent tax credit for all the research and development your companies do in this country.  I believe that is a priority.

We also have a responsibility as a nation to provide our people with -- and our businesses -- with the fastest, most reliable way to move goods and information.  The costs to business from outdated and inadequate infrastructure is enormous.  And that’s what we have right now -- outdated, inadequate infrastructure（基础设施） .

And any of you that have been traveling to other countries, you know it, you see it, and it affects your bottom lines.  That’s why I want to put more people to work rebuilding crumbling roads, rebuilding our bridges.  That’s why I’ve proposed connecting 80 percent of the country with high-speed -- to high-speed rail, and making it possible for companies to put high-speed Internet coverage in the reach of virtually all Americans.

You understand the importance of this.  The fact is, the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO don’t agree on a whole lot.  Tom Donohue and Richard Trumka are not Facebook friends.  (Laughter.)  Well, maybe -- I don’t think you are anyway.  (Laughter.)  I didn’t check on this, but -- but they agree on the need to build a 21st-century infrastructure.  And I want to thank the Chamber for pushing Congress to make more infrastructure investments, and to do so in the most cost-effective way possible:  with tax dollars that leverage private capital, and with projects that are determined not by politics, but by what’s best for our economy.

Third responsibility that we have as a nation is to invest in the skills and education of our young people.  If we expect companies to do business and hire in America, America needs a pool of trained, talented workers that can out-compete anybody in the world.  And that’s why we’re reforming K-12 education; that’s why we’re training 100,000 new math and science teachers; that’s why we’re making college more affordable, and revitalizing（复活，复兴） our community college system.

Recently I visited GE in Schenectady, which has partnered with a local community college.  And while students train for jobs available at the nearby GE plant, they earn a paycheck and they’ve got their tuition covered.  And as a result, young people can find work, GE can fill high-skill positions, and the entire region has become more attractive to businesses.  It’s a win-win for everybody, and it’s something we’re trying to duplicate（复制） across the country.

Now, to make room for these investments in education, in innovation, in infrastructure, government also has a responsibility to cut spending that we just can’t afford.  That’s why I’ve promised to veto any bill that’s larded up with earmarks.  That’s why I’ve proposed that we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years.  Understand what this means.  This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and bring this spending -- domestic discretionary spending -- down to the lowest share of our economy since Eisenhower was president.  That was a long time ago.

Now, it’s not going to be enough.  We’re going to have to do more.  Because the driving force on our deficits are entitlements（权利） spending.  And that’s going to require both parties to work together, because those are some tough problems that we’re going to have to solve.  And I am eager to work with both parties and with the Chamber to take additional steps across the budget to put our nation on a sounder fiscal（会计的，财政的） footing.

By stopping spending on things we don’t need, we can make investments in the things that we do need, the same way families do.  If they’ve got a fiscal problem, if they’ve got to tighten their belt, they don’t stop paying for Johnny to go to college.  They cut out things they don’t need, but they still make investments in the thing that are going to make sure we win the future.  And that’s what we have to do as a country:  make some smart choices -- tough choices, but smart ones.

Now, in addition to making government more affordable, we’re also making it more effective and more consumer-friendly.  We’re trying to run the government a little bit more like you run your business -- with better technology and faster services.  So in the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate（巩固，联合） and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America.  And we want to start with the 12 different agencies that deal with America’s exports.  If we hope to help our businesses sell more goods around the world, we should ensure we’re all pulling in the same direction.  And frankly, with 12 different agencies in charge, nobody is in charge.  So we’re going to fix that as an example of how we can make a government that’s more responsive to the American people and to American businesses.

Which brings me to the final responsibility of government:  breaking down some of the barriers that stand in the way of your success.  As far as exports are concerned, that means seeking new opportunities and opening new markets for your goods.  And I will tell you I will go anywhere anytime to be a booster for American businesses, American workers and American products.  We recently signed -- (applause) -- and I don’t charge a commission.  (Laughter.)