The White House(WASHINGTON) — President Obama called on the Republicans in Congress to show some “economic patriotism” on Tuesday, asking the lawmakers to close a corporate tax loophole that has put the Highway Trust Fund in a precarious financial position.
Standing next to Washington’s Key Bridge, Obama talked about the how the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and trains, will run out if Congress doesn’t act by the end of the summer. There “won’t be any money there,” Obama said, adding that the situation could put 700,000 jobs at risk next year.
“We could do so much more if we just rallied around an economic patriotism, a sense that our job is to get things done, as one nation and as one people,” the president said on Tuesday. However, he pointed out, “Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class.”
Despite the political — and potentially literal — gridlock, Obama said he would continue to sign executive orders to help the middle class, joking that Republican lawmakers can “sue me,” days after House Speaker John Boehner did just that. “As long as they’re doing nothing,” Obama said, “I’m not going to apologize for trying to do something.”
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