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Obama Gives Congress Mixed Review


U.S. President Barack Obama has praised Congress for passing a budget, which he says will help chart the economic course of the country for the next two years.

In his weekly address Saturday, Obama also cited congressional votes that resulted in "dedicated and well-qualified" public servants doing their jobs for the American people.

President Barack Obama greets members of the military as he arrives with the first family on Air Force One at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 20, 2013.
President Barack Obama greets members of the military as he arrives with the first family on Air Force One at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 20, 2013.
However, the president chided Congress for not voting before leaving for the holiday vacation to extend unemployment benefits for more than one million Americans.

Obama said unemployment insurance is "a lifeline that can make the difference between temporary hardship or lasting catastrophe." He urged Congress to restore that lifeline immediately.

The president recorded his address before leaving with his family for two-week a vacation in his home state of Hawai'i.

The Republicans used their weekly address to continue the party's relentless attack on so-called Obamacare, saying the health care law is not fair to young Americans. Representative Aaron Schock (of Illinois) says the law shifts costs to healthier people to keep premiums from skyrocketing for others.
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