国际英语新闻:Obama Vows to Work With Republican Congress

WHITE HOUSE—A day after his Democratic Party was trounced in midterm elections, President Barack Obama vowed to work with the new Republican majority in Congress to ensure a prosperous future for Americans.
 
Conceding that Republicans had a “good night,” winning a 52-seat majority in the Senate, Obama struck a measured tone, saying Americans had sent a clear message with their vote.
 
“They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do," he said. "They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done. All of us in both parties have a responsibility to address that sentiment."

At a White House news conference, the president cited areas of possible common ground with Republicans, such as building infrastructure and boosting exports.  He said he would meet with Republican congressional leaders Friday to get a sense of their agenda.
 
Obama said that in the next few weeks, he hoped to work with lawmakers on boosting funding for those on the front lines of the Ebola fight in West Africa and getting congressional authorization for the use of military force in the battle against Islamic State militants.
 
“The world needs to know we are united behind this effort, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support,” he said.
 
One area where Obama stood firm was immigration. He said he had hoped Congress would pass comprehensive reform that would strengthen the borders, improve the U.S. economy and give opportunity to those who are undocumented.

But in the absence of such congressional action, Obama said he was prepared to act on his own and use his executive authority on immigration before the end of the year.
 
“What I am not going to do is just wait," he said. "I think it is fair to say that I have shown a lot of patience and have tried to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible, and I am planning to keep on doing so. But in the meantime, let us figure out what we can do lawfully through executive action to improve the functioning of the existing system.”