President Barack Obama took Congress to task in remarks on the economy on Wednesday, accusing Republicans of wasting valuable time by voting on a resolution regarding whether or not to sue him over his use of executive actions.
In remarks at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Obama highlighted the strong second quarter GDP growth reported earlier in the day and argued that the economy would be even stronger with action from Congress.
"Now, all of you are doing your part to help bring America back. You're doing your job," Obama told the crowd. "Imagine how much further along we'd be, how much stronger our economy would be, if Congress was doing its job, too. We'd be doing great."
The president claimed that Republicans in Congress keep blocking or voting down just about every idea that would have some of the biggest impact on middle-class and working-class families.
Obama argued that the lack of assistance from Congress has forced him to take executive actions aimed at helping hardworking Americans.
"Some of the things we're doing without Congress are making a difference, but we could do so much more if Congress would just come on and help out a little bit," Obama said to applause.
"Just come on," he added. "Come on and help out a little bit. Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hatin' all the time. Come on. Let's get some work done together."
Obama noted that lawmakers have a number of issues to address before leaving town for the August recess and lamented the fact that the House is spending the day debating whether to file a lawsuit against him.
The threatened lawsuit would focus on the president's unilateral actions on Obamacare's employer mandate, but Obama claimed he is being sued for doing his job.
"They're mad because I'm doing my job," Obama said. "And, by the way, I've told them -- I said, I'd be happy to do it with you. So the only reason I'm doing it on my own is because you don't do anything."
He added, "I mean, everybody recognizes this is a political stunt, but it's worse than that, because every vote they're taking like that means a vote they're not taking to actually help you."
The Republican-controlled House is expected to approve the resolution authorizing the lawsuit against the president later in the day.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has described the lawsuit as an effort to defend the constitution, arguing that Obama effectively created his own law by temporarily waiving the healthcare law's employer mandate without the consent of Congress.
"Congress makes the laws; the president executes them. That is the system the Founders gave us," Boehner wrote in an op-ed in USA Today on Sunday. "This is not about executive orders. Every president issues executive orders. Most of them, though, do so within the law."
He added, "This is also not about me vs. President Obama. This is about future Congresses and future presidents. There is a conflict between the executive branch and the legislative branch of our government. It is the judiciary branch's role to help resolve it."
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