Obama Ends Oval Office Address by Calling for New GI Bill

Closing his Oval Office address on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama called for a post 9/11 version of the GI Bill to honor veterans who served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and a way to jump-start the American Dream and the economy.

Our most urgent task is to restore our economy, said Obama who added that a trillion had been spent on military operations in the last decades, leading to record debts and deficits.

Obama called for a new version of the GI Bill, the federal education program that helped veterans fund higher education after World War II. Obama noted that his grandfather had received GI Bill benefits.

Our troops are the steel of our ship of state, said Obama, who added that they will help steer that ship even during the roughest of waters.