President Obama warned Saturday that positive economic trends would be reversed by a “Christmas shutdown” in Washington and also pushed the incoming GOP-led Congress to embrace a minimum-wage hike and other administration priorities.
In his weekly address, the president touted this week’s data showing the U.S. added more than 200,000 jobs in November, bringing the 2014 total to 2.6 million jobs. That progress, Mr. Obama added, could be undone if Congress fails to pass legislation to fund the government past Dec. 11.
“We need the outgoing Congress to pass a budget deal and keep our government open. A Christmas shutdown is not a good idea,” the president said.
But Mr. Obama went beyond simply cautioning against another government shutdown. He also laid out a list of priorities he believes the new Congress should embrace come January, including Democratic wish-list items that seem to have little chance of becoming law, such as raising the national minimum wage to $10.10.
“When the new Congress convenes in January, we need to work together to invest in the things that support faster growth and higher-paying jobs,” Mr. Obama said. “Building new roads and bridges creates jobs. Growing our exports creates jobs. Reforming our outdated tax system and our broken immigration system creates jobs. Raising the minimum wage would benefit nearly 28 million American workers, giving them more money to spend at local businesses — and that helps those businesses create jobs.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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