Wall Street Journal
By Carol E. Lee and Jared A. Favole
February 25, 2014
WASHINGTON—President
Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) covered a wide
range of domestic and foreign policy issues Tuesday in their first
one-on-one
meeting in more than a year.
The
Oval Office meeting, which lasted about an hour according to aides to
both men, comes as the president and Republican leaders in Congress have
lowered expectations
for significant legislative action ahead of the November elections. Mr.
Boehner has backed away from immigration reform under pressure from
lawmakers in his own party, while Mr. Obama has tamped down his push for
new trade pacts that many Democrats oppose.
The
White House and Mr. Boehner's office said the two discussed those
issues during their meeting, as well as manufacturing, budget issues, a
highway bill, Mr. Obama's
health-care law and natural-disaster concerns including flood
insurance, California drought relief and wildfire suppression.
"They
agreed that there is a lot work to do the rest of the year, and it is
important to work together wherever we can find common ground," an aide
to Mr. Boehner said.
White
House press secretary Jay Carney said the meeting was "constructive,"
adding that Mr. Obama is "looking for a partner in Congress to advance"
his agenda.
Neither Mr. Boehner nor Mr. Obama addressed reporters before or after the meeting.
The
two have been at odds on various issues, most recently Mr. Obama's
decision not to include in his 2015 budget a measure that would slow the
growth of Social Security
costs. Mr. Boehner's office accused the president of giving up on
tackling the deficit.
Mr.
Obama's aides responded to the criticism by pointing to Mr. Boehner's
retreat on immigration and public comments saying he won't negotiate
with the White House on
fiscal issues.
Mr.
Boehner and other Republicans have criticized Mr. Obama for not pushing
hard enough to persuade Democrats to support trade efforts.
The
president called, in his State of the Union address, for trade
negotiating powers known as fast track. The next day, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said
he opposed granting the president the authority—highlighting a split
among Democrats.
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