Obama’s Weekly Address: Slams House GOP Over Unfinished Business
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Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama is blasting lawmakers for leaving Washington for a six-week recess ahead of the November election without acting on his proposals to boost job creation and jumpstart the economy.
“Without much fanfare, Members of the House of Representatives banged a gavel, turned out the lights, and rushed home, declaring their work finished for now,” Obama says in his weekly address. “If that frustrates you, it should — because their work isn’t finished.”
“Apparently, some Members of Congress are more worried about their jobs and their paychecks this campaign season than they are about yours,” he continues.
If Congress had “gotten its act together,” the president says, lawmakers would have extended tax cuts for the middle class and passed a farm bill to aid ranchers and farmers hit by natural disasters. If Congress had “done the right thing,” Obama says, lawmakers would have created a veterans’ jobs corps to help returning troops find work and acted to help homeowners refinance at lower rates.
Instead, the president says, “Republicans in Congress have dragged their feet. And now they’re gone.”
Obama urges lawmakers to listen to the needs of their constituents during this break and “come back in November and do this work.”
The president concludes by asking the public for their help. “If you see them campaigning back home, tell them in person. Because there’s been enough talk. It’s time for action,” he says.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio