Obama urges Cabinet to find ways to act without Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Be creative.” That’s the instruction from President Barack Obama to his Cabinet secretaries — who are being urged to come up with ways of making what Obama calls “real progress” on issues where Congress won’t act.

Meeting with Cabinet members at the White House today, Obama said he’d prefer to see Congress act on issues such as immigration and infrastructure, because his own administrative actions would be limited in scope.

Obama today is also issuing a plea to fix the nation’s bridges and highways. At Washington’s Key Bridge, named after the author of the “Star Spangled Banner,” Obama will call on Congress to close tax loopholes and use the money on infrastructure projects.

Yesterday, Obama declared that he would act on his own to address weaknesses in the nation’s immigration system after House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur) informed him that the House would not take up an immigration overhaul this year.

%@AP Links

155-a-13-(President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters during Cabinet meeting)-“pushing their agenda”-President Obama says he’d love to work with lawmakers, but if they won’t work with him, he and his Cabinet chiefs will need to “be creative” to get things done. (1 Jul 2014)

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154-a-12-(President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters during Cabinet meeting)-“to do anything”-President Obama says his recent travels have convinced him Americans want him to act when Congress won’t. (1 Jul 2014)

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APPHOTO DCJM105: President Barack Obama meets with his cabinet members in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. From left are National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (1 Jul 2014)

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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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