Obama: Americans 'fed up' with Washington

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama: Americans 'fed up' with Washington President Obama said Thursday there have been "no winners" in the government shutdown dispute, and lawmakers will have to work hard to regain the trust of Americans.

President Obama discusses his post-shutdown agenda

There have been %22no winners%22 in %22self-inflicted crisis%2C%22 the president said

Obama urges Congress to pass a long-term budget plan%2C farm bill and immigration overhaul.

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday there have been "no winners" in the government shutdown dispute, and lawmakers will have to work hard to regain the trust of Americans.

"The American people are completely fed up with Washington," Obama said during remarks at the White House.

Repeatedly criticizing Congress over the just-ended shutdown and a near-default, Obama said: "At a moment when our economic recovery demands more jobs, more momentum, we've got yet another self-inflicted crisis that set our economy back."

The president said Congress can recover by passing three agenda items: a long-tern budget plan that cuts spending but preserves essential programs, a new farm bill, and a bill to fix a "broken" immigration system.

"We can get them done by the end of the year if our focus is on the American people," Obama said.

Obama spoke hours after signing a bill that ended that ended the 16-day government partial shutdown and extended the government's borrowing authority, averting a potential default on some of the nation's debts.

The measures are temporary, creating the possibility of renewed conflict in the months ahead.

The new bill funds the government through Jan. 15. The debt ceiling borrowing authority expires Feb. 7, though the Treasury Department could use special accounting measures to extend it for a month or so.

In his brief speech, Obama bashed Congress by saying "these last few weeks have inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy" and "there was no economic rationale for all of this."

The budget impasse has also hurt U.S. credibility overseas, Obama said, encouraging enemies, emboldening competitors and depressing friends across the globe.

"The good news is we'll bounce back from this," Obama said. "We always do."

Politics in Washington "has to change," Obama said. "All of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists, and the bloggers, and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict."

He did not specifically cite his Republican opponents in Congress, but did criticize "the one side" that practiced "brinkmanship" in recent weeks.

"There's no good reason why we can't govern responsibly, despite our differences, without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis," Obama said.

He added: "Disagreement cannot mean dysfunction."

Some congressional Republicans opposed any new spending plan unless Obama delayed parts of his new health care plan. Obama refused, and enough GOP members eventually approved a plan with no major changes to Obamacare.

The bill also calls for new budget negotiations between Congress and the White House.

In outlining his new legislative agenda, Obama called for a "balanced" budget plan. In the past, that has included new revenues from wealthier Americans; congressional Republicans say they will oppose higher taxes, saying the emphasis should be on spending cuts.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pointed out that spending has been cut under the sequestration provisions of the previously signed Budget Control Act. "The bipartisan legislation we passed to reopen the government and prevent a default will continue the BCA spending reductions," he said.

Obama noted that the Senate has approved an immigration bill this year on a bipartisan vote. Members of the Republican-run House want to split that plan into separate pieces. Many also object to a provision providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are already in the country illegally, describing that proposal as amnesty for lawbreakers.