Obama Seeks Minimum Wage Boost to Bolster Economy in Speech

President Barack Obama called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour and warned he’ll use executive powers to get his way on issues from climate change to manufacturing if Congress doesn’t act, laying out an assertive second-term agenda sure to provoke Republicans.

In the first State of the Union address since winning re-election, Obama proposed making preschool available to all 4-year-olds, negotiating a new trade agreement with the European Union and spending $50 billion on “urgent” infrastructure projects. He lauded steps by companies including Apple Inc. and Ford Motor Co. to bring jobs back to the U.S.