Mr Obama said the US was “poised for progress” after the recession US President Barack Obama is addressing the US public before both houses of Congress in the annual State of the Union address.
Mr Obama said the US is “poised for progress” after “the worst recession most of us have ever known”.
He said the US is facing a “Sputnik moment” – an opportunity to use international competition to create jobs in science and research.
Republicans have warned that they will reject calls for additional spending.
BBC North America editor Mark Mardell says that, as expected, the president is making a pitch for unity and progress, portraying what is for him a political necessity as a virtue.
But he is also trying to put the depressing wreckage of the recession behind him and conjure a message of aspiration and optimism, our correspondent says.
After making his way through the chamber, greeting members of Congress, Mr Obama began his speech by paying tribute to Gabrielle Giffords, the Congresswoman who was seriously wounded in a mass shooting three weeks ago.
He said the incident had reminded the US public that they “share common hopes and a common creed”.
Following elections in November, both parties now share the responsibility of governing and the people want them to work together, he said.
Mr Obama said technical advances, the rise of nations like India and China and the export of many jobs overseas meant that for many Americans, “the rules have changed”.
He said it was essential to encourage “American innovation” to secure jobs and growth.
The Sputnik moment: Obama is talking about investing in education, research and technology to an audience where more than half of them want to hear cut, cut, cut
The US is facing a “Sputnik moment”, he said, referring to the rise in research and education spending which came after the Soviets beat the US into space with the Sputnik satellite in 1957.
“Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race,” he said.
“In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.”
Republican lawmakers are expected to criticise the president on his plans for new public spending and investments in education, research and infrastructure.
“A few years ago, reducing spending was important,” Wisconsin Republican Representative Paul Ryan is due to say in the Republican response to Mr Obama. “Today, it’s imperative. Here’s why – we face a crushing burden of debt.”
Mr Obama is also expected to back a plan put forward by Defence Secretary Robert Gates to trim $78bn (£59bn) from the military budget, the Associated Press reported, quoting an anonymous administration official
Mr Obama’s job approval numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks, seen in part as the result of his success in pushing a series of new laws through the so-called lame duck Congress at the end of last year.
“We’ll take a look at his recommendations. We always do. But this is not a time to be looking at pumping up government spending in very many areas”
Mitch McConnell Senate Minority Leader
The State of the Union speech is nationally televised and is historically one of the most watched political events in the US.
The speech comes less than two weeks after a mass shooting in Tucson in the US state of Arizona that injured Ms Giffords and 12 other people and left six people dead.
A seat in Congress was to remain empty in honour of Ms Giffords and family members of some of the victims were to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Republican Party has already pledged to oppose the president’s plans, and a large, prominent group of the most conservative House Republicans has proposed slashing $2.5 trillion (£1.57 trillion) from the federal non-defence budget over the next 10 years.
The Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives and enough strength in the US Senate to block unilateral Democratic action on economic policy, but are unable to dictate their own agenda.
“We’ll take a look at his recommendations,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said on Sunday. “We always do. But this is not a time to be looking at pumping up government spending in very many areas.”
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