Before a crowd of U. S. Steel workers, union representatives, local government authorities and other guests, Obama congratulated and thanked U. S. Steel for its work in strengthening American manufacturing and the economy.
 
Addressing the steelworkers before him, Obama said, “This company helped build America, and over a hundred years later, you’re still at it. You forge the pipes that transport cleaner-burning natural gas. You manufacture the lightweight alloys that our automakers use to build fuel-efficient cars. You’re part of one of the great turnaround stories of this economic recovery, the rebound of the American steel industry.”
 
Believing that 2014 can be a breakthrough year for the United States, Obama noted that 8 million new jobs have been created over the past four years — 9,000 new jobs in the steel industry alone — and that manufacturing is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s.

 
“We sell more of what we make here in America to other parts of the world than ever before.  Business leaders are starting to realize that China is no longer the best place to invest and create jobs, America is,” he stated.
 
The President reiterated some of the points he made the night before in the State of the Union Address, laying out four steps the country can take right now to speed up economic growth and strengthen the middle class. The first includes creating more new jobs in American manufacturing, American energy, and in American innovation and technology. The second is the training of more Americans with the skills to fit those jobs; the third, to guarantee every child in America has a world-class education; and the fourth, to make sure hard work pays off.
 
To ensure this last point, Mr. Obama highlighted a new Presidential Memorandum for retirement savings security to create accounts for employees whose employers do not offer retirement benefits.  He pointed out, with applause from the crowd, that U. S. Steel’s employees already receive great benefits, through the help of the United Steelworkers union, but that nearly half of American workers do not have access to these kinds of retirement benefits. Mr. Obama signed the Memorandum on stage at the U. S. Steel mill.