Obama chides Congress for departing with much left - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

President Barack Obama is faulting Congress for leaving town with several pieces of unfinished business on its plate, including measures to help veterans, farmers and homeowners.

Obama accuses lawmakers in his weekend radio and Internet address of being "more worried about their jobs and their paychecks" than their constituents.

He says lawmakers missed opportunities to help the economy and wants them to come back in November to finish work on a veterans' job plan, farm policy and helping homeowners refinance.

Two years of rancor and a divided government resulted in one of the least productive, least popular Congresses in history. The Senate wrapped up in the middle of the night by passing a six-month bill to keep the government operating.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions says in the Republican address that Senate Democrats adjourned having failed to meet their "most basic obligations" of producing a budget plan and didn't address looming tax hikes and defense cuts.

Sessions says if given the chance, Republicans will get the government "under control."

Lawmakers will return to Washington in about seven weeks facing a crowded list of must-do items, topped by avoiding what's become known as the fiscal cliff. That refers to the expiration of George W. Bush-era tax cuts, along with looming automatic spending cuts that could drive the country back into recession.

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