Obama to GOP: 'Stop the games'

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Saturday said Republicans in Congress "should stop the games" and pass a payroll tax cut extension.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president criticized Senate Republicans for blocking his nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Finance Protection Board, a watchdog established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

"Financial institutions have plenty of high-powered lawyers and lobbyists looking out for them," he said. "It's time consumers had someone on their side.

"And while they're at it, Republicans in Congress should stop the games and extend the payroll tax cut for working Americans," Obama said. "Because if they don't, nearly 160 million Americans will see their taxes go up at the end of this month.

"Congress can't end the year by taking money out of the pockets of working Americans," the president said.

"No one should go home for the holidays until we get this done," he said. "So tell your members of Congress, don't be a Grinch. Tell them to do the right thing for you and for our economy."

As he did in other forums this week, Obama said now is a "make-or-break moment for the middle class."

"After the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, some still want to return to the same policies that got us into this mess," he said. "They're the same policies that have stacked the deck against working Americans for too long. They're part of a philosophy that says we're better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules."