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Live Coverage of Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address

President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night, and Times reporters and editors are providing analysis during the speech.

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5:26 P.M. Obama to Press Past Congress on Minimum Wage

President Obama plans to sign an executive order requiring that janitors, construction workers and others working for federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour in the future, using his own power to enact a more limited version of a policy that he has yet to push through Congress.

The order, which Mr. Obama will highlight in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday night, is meant to underscore an increased willingness by the president to bypass Congress if lawmakers continue to resist his agenda, aides said. After a year in which most of his legislative priorities went nowhere, Mr. Obama is seeking ways to make progress despite a lack of cooperation on Capitol Hill.

The minimum wage plan provides an example of what he has in mind. Mr. Obama called on Congress during last year’s State of the Union address to raise the minimum wage for workers across the board, only to watch the proposal languish on Capitol Hill, where opponents argued that it would hurt businesses and stifle job creation. With prospects for congressional action still slim, Mr. Obama is using the executive order covering federal contractors to go as far as he can on his own.

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â€" Peter Baker



Lawmakers Go on the Record for Clinton

On Monday, Hillary Rodham Clinton again said she had not yet decided whether she would run for president in 2016. That has not stopped the Democratic Party from coalescing around her.

A new survey conducted by The Hill found that 56 Democratic lawmakers said they would support Mrs. Clinton in 2016. The list, released early Tuesday, included 22 congressional Democrats who had already publicly endorsed the former first lady, and 34 other Democrats who told The Hill that they, too, would support her.

The wave of early enthusiasm not only signals an interest in electing Mrs. Clinton as the party’s nominee, but also reinforces the somewhat limited landscape on the Democratic side should she choose not to run.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, said he would back Mrs. Clinton, even though the governor of his state, Martin O’Malley, is a potential opponent of hers. In November, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York endorsed Mrs. Clinton in a speech in Iowa; Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has also been floated as a potential 2016 candidate.

Also on the list of supporters is Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has gained popularity among some Democrats who would like her to represent the more progressive side of the party in 2016.

The early endorsements could come as a mixed blessing to the Clinton operation, which will need to tamp down the image of inevitability that impeded Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008. Eleven of the lawmakers surveyed by The Hill, including Senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, endorsed Barack Obama over Mrs. Clinton that year.

The Hill spoke to each lawmaker twice to ask whether they would support Mrs. Clinton. A majority of those questioned did not respond or declined to comment. Below is the complete list of Clinton supporters surveyed:

Senators who back Clinton (18):

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Barbara Boxer, California
Maria Cantwell, Washington
Dianne Feinstein, California
Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
Kay Hagan, North Carolina
Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana
Claire McCaskill, Missouri
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
Patty Murray, Washington
Charles E. Schumer, New York
Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
Debbie Stabenow, Michigan
Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

House members who back Mrs. Clinton (38):
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
Timothy H. Bishop, New York
David Cicilline, Rhode Island
Joaquin Castro, Texas
Danny K. Davis, Illinois
John Delaney, Maryland
Lois Frankel, Florida
Gene Green, Texas
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois
Janice Hahn, California
Colleen Hanabusa, Hawaii
Alcee L. Hastings, Florida
Brian Higgins, New York
Michael M. Honda, California
Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Hank Johnson, Georgia
Jim Langevin, Rhode Island
Sander M. Levin, Michigan
John Lewis, Georgia
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Carolyn B. Maloney, New York
Doris Matsui, California
Gregory W. Meeks, New York
Grace Meng, New York
James P. Moran, Virginia
Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts
Chellie Pingree, Maine
Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana
Tim Ryan, Ohio
Jan Schakowsky, Illinois
Allyson Y. Schwartz, Pennsylvania
David Scott, Georgia
Terri A. Sewell, Alabama
Louise M. Slaughter, New York
Dina Titus, Nevada
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida



How Would You Describe the State of the Union?


President Obama will deliver the State of the Union address to members of Congress and the American people Tuesday night. Times reporters and editors will provide analysis of the speech as it is delivered, but before the president speaks, we’d like to hear from you.

Peter Baker previewed the speech this weekend, noting that the president is likely to outline a modest agenda for 2014. We would like to know if you think the country’s current circumstances match Mr. Obama’s scaled-back ambitions.

How would you describe the current state of our union? Please share your opinion with us on Twitter by adding the hashtag #TellNYT to your tweet. We’ll collect some of the best responses and feature them ahead of our live coverage of the speech.