Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.
The best measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed, companies say they intend to hire more people. And over half of big manufacturers say they're thinking of insourcing jobs from abroad.
Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here, and reward companies that keep profits abroad. Let's flip that equation. Let's work together to close those loopholes, end those incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lower tax rates for businesses that create jobs here at home.
Moreover, we can take the money we save with this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure. We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways Bills this summer. But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects.
We also have the chance to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs. My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown, where we've connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies. Tonight, I'm announcing we'll launch six more this year. Bipartisan Bills in both houses could double the number of these hubs and the jobs they create. So get those Bills to my desk and put more Americans back to work.
Over the past five years, my administration has made more loans to small business owners than any other. And when 98 per cent of our exporters are small businesses, new trade partnerships with Europe and the Asia-Pacific will help them create more jobs. We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers, protect our environment, and open new markets to new goods stamped "Made in the USA."
We know that the nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender. Federally-funded research helped lead to the ideas and inventions behind Google and smartphones. That's why Congress should undo the damage done by last year's cuts to basic research so we can unleash the next great American discovery - whether it's vaccines that stay ahead of drug-resistant bacteria, or paper-thin material that's stronger than steel. And let's pass a patent reform Bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation.
Now, one of the factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we've been in decades.
One of the reasons why is natural gas - if extracted safely, it's the bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change. Businesses plan to invest almost $100 billion in new factories that use natural gas. I'll cut red tape to help states get those factories built, and this Congress can help by putting people to work building fueling stations that shift more cars and trucks from foreign oil to American natural gas. My administration will keep working with the industry to sustain production and job growth while strengthening protection of our air, our water, and our communities. I'll use my authority to protect more of our pristine federal lands for future generations.
It's not just oil and natural gas production that's booming; we're becoming a global leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can't be outsourced. Let's continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do.
As we've increased energy production, we've partnered with businesses, builders, and communities to reduce the energy we consume. When we rescued our automakers we worked with them to set higher fuel efficiency standards for our cars. I'll build on that success by setting new standards for our trucks, so we can keep driving down oil imports and what we pay at the pump.
Our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet. Over the past eight years, the US has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth. But we have to act with more urgency - because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought, and coastal cities dealing with floods. That's why I directed my administration to work with states, utilities, and others to set new standards on the amount of carbon pollution our power plants are allowed to dump into the air. Climate change is a fact. And when our children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.
If we are serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labour leaders, and law enforcement - and fix our broken immigration system. Economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this year.
Edited excerpts from the State of the Union Address by US President Barack Obama on January 28, 2014 in Washington