国际英语新闻:Obama calls for bipartisanship in new Congress
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- President Barack Obama on Saturday called for bipartisanship to solve America's problems and move the country forward as a new year begins.
"At the start of 2011, we're still just emerging from a once-in-a-lifetime recession that's taken a terrible toll on millions of families," Obama said in his weekly address, taped in Hawaii, where the president is spending the holidays with his family.
While the U.S. economy has been growing for quarters and shown signs of recovery in many sectors, the overall jobless rate remains high at nearly 10 percent.
Obama reiterated his commitment to "do everything I can to make sure our economy is growing, creating jobs, and strengthening our middle class."
However, Obama will face more constraint from Congress in moving his agenda forward as Republicans have gained a significant number of seats in November's midterm elections.
"In a few days, a new Congress will form, with one house controlled by Democrats, and one house controlled by Republicans -- who now have a shared responsibility to move this country forward," Obama said.
"I'm willing to work with anyone of either party who' s got a good idea and the commitment to see it through," the president said, "And we should all expect you to hold us accountable for our progress or our failure to deliver."
Crossing the party lines to cooperate with each other will not be easy for both Democrats and Republicans. The two parties do not have much common ground in dealing with the country's problems such as how to trim the federal deficit.
In addition, as the 2012 presidential campaign will begin to unfold in spring, both parties will have more incentive to emphasize their differences instead of consensus.
相关文章
- 欧美文化:Emergency rooms see more gun violence victims in U.S. in 1st year of pandemic: CNN
- 欧美文化:Sri Lankan military authorized to maintain law, order amid unrest
- 欧美文化:Spanish government sacks spy chief after phone tapping scandal
- 欧美文化:Turkey, Kazakhstan aim to reach 10 bln USD in bilateral trade: president
- 欧美文化:UN chief condemns attacks on civilians by armed group in DRC
- 欧美文化:Moroccan, Egyptian FMs discuss prospects of bolstering cooperation
- 欧美文化:Macron visits Berlin on first foreign trip after re-election
- 欧美文化:Ukrainian president, Swedish PM discuss defense support for Ukraine over phone
- 欧美文化:Lebanon condemns deadly attack in Egypt's Sinai
- 欧美文化:Voting begins in Philippine elections