Over the last year， we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected， and others we could never have imagined. We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship. We endured floods and fires and storms. But through it all， we have seen the beauty of America＇s soul， and the steel in America＇s spine.
Each test has forged new American heroes to remind us who we are， and show us what we can be.
We saw the volunteers of the ＂Cajun Navy，＂ racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane.
We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the Las Vegas strip.
We heard tales of Americans like Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee Leppert， who is here tonight in the gallery with Melania. Ashlee was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Through 18 hours of wind and rain， Ashlee braved live power lines and deep water， to help save more than 40 lives. Thank you， Ashlee.
We heard about Americans like firefighter David Dahlberg. He is here with us too. David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children trapped at a California summer camp threatened by wildfires.
To everyone still recovering in Texas， Florida， Louisiana， Puerto Rico， the Virgin Islands， California， and everywhere else －－ we are with you， we love you， and we will pull through together.
Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally. With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this House －－ a guy who took a bullet， almost died， and was back to work three and a half months later：the legend from Louisiana， Congressman Steve Scalise.
We are incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police Officers， the Alexandria Police， and the doctors， nurses， and paramedics who saved his life， and the lives of many others in this room.
In the aftermath of that terrible shooting， we came together， not as Republicans or Democrats， but as representatives of the people. But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy. Tonight， I call upon all of us to set aside our differences， to seek out common ground， and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve.
Over the last year， the world has seen what we always knew：that no people on Earth are so fearless， or daring， or determined as Americans. If there is a mountain， we climb it. If there is a frontier， we cross it. If there is a challenge， we tame it. If there is an opportunity， we seize it.
So let us begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our Union is strong because our people are strong.
And together， we are building a safe， strong， and proud America.
Since the election， we have created 2.4 million new jobs， including 200，000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. After years of wage stagnation， we are finally seeing rising wages.
Unemployment claims have hit a 45－year low. African－American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded， and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.
Small business confidence is at an all－time high. The stock market has smashed one record after another， gaining ＄8 trillion in value. That is great news for Americans＇ 401k， retirement， pension， and college savings accounts.
And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago， we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history.
Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses.
To lower tax rates for hardworking Americans， we nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone. Now， the first ＄24，000 earned by a married couple is completely tax－free. We also doubled the child tax credit.
A typical family of four making ＄75，000 will see their tax bill reduced by ＄2，000 －－ slashing their tax bill in half.
This April will be the last time you ever file under the old broken system －－ and millions of Americans will have more take－home pay starting next month.
We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than ＄50，000 a year －－ forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they could not afford government－ordered health plans. We repealed the core of disastrous Obamacare －－ the individual mandate is now gone.
We slashed the business tax rate from 35 percent all the way down to 21 percent， so American companies can compete and win against anyone in the world. These changes alone are estimated to increase average family income by more than ＄4，000.
Small businesses have also received a massive tax cut， and can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
Here tonight are Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger of Staub Manufacturing －－ a small business in Ohio. They have just finished the best year in their 20－year history. Because of tax reform， they are handing out raises， hiring an additional 14 people， and expanding into the building next door.
One of Staub＇s employees， Corey Adams， is also with us tonight. Corey is an all－American worker. He supported himself through high school， lost his job during the 2008 recession， and was later hired by Staub， where he trained to become a welder. Like many hardworking Americans， Corey plans to invest his tax cut raise into his new home and his two daughters＇ education. Please join me in congratulating Corey.
Since we passed tax cuts， roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses －－ many of them thousands of dollars per worker. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of ＄350 billion in America， and hire another 20，000 workers.
This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.
So to every citizen watching at home tonight －－ no matter where you have been， or where you come from， this is your time. If you work hard， if you believe in yourself， if you believe in America， then you can dream anything， you can be anything， and together， we can achieve anything.
Tonight， I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have， and what kind of Nation we are going to be. All of us， together， as one team， one people， and one American family.
We all share the same home， the same heart， the same destiny， and the same great American flag.
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