working. unemployment has come down. more americans have health insurance, manufacturing has grown. our deficits have shrunk. our dependence on foreign oil is down, as are gas prices. our graduation rates are up. our businesses aren't just creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, our economy is outpacing most of the world. but we just got to keep at it until every american feels the gains of a growing economy where it matters most, and that's in their own lives. obviously, much of that will take action from congress. i'm eager to work with the next congress to make the next two years as productive as possible. i'm committed to making sure that i measure ideas, not by whether they are from democrats or republicans, but whether they work for the american people. that's not to say that we won't disagree over some issues we're

passionate about. we will. congress will pass some bills i cannot sign. i'm pretty sure i'll take some actions that some in congress will not like. that's natural. that's how our democracy works. but we can surely find ways to work on issues where there's broad agreement among the american people. so, i look forward to republicans putting forward their governing agenda. i will offer my ideas on areas where i think we can move together to respond to people's economic needs. so, just take one example. we all agree on the need to create more jobs that pay well. traditionally both parties have been for creating jobs rebuilding our infrastructure. our roads, bridges, ports, waterways. i think we can hone in on a way to pay for it through tax reform that closes loopholes and makes it more attractive for companies to create jobs here in the united states. we can also work to grow our exports and open markets for

manufacturers to sell american-made goods to the rest of the world. that's something i'm i'll focus on when i travel to asia next week. we share the same aspirations for our young people. republicans agreed to expand early childhood education. we have a chance to do more on that front. we have common ideas to help young people afford more college and graduate without crippling debt so they have the freedom to fill the good jobs of tomorrow, buy their first homes and build a family. voters went five for five to increase the minimum wage. that will give about 325,000 americans a raise in states where republican candidates prevailed. so, that should give us new reason to get it done for everybody, with a national increase in the minimum wage. so, those are some areas where i think we have real opportunities to cooperate.

i'm eager to hear republican ideas for what they think we can do together over the next couple of years. of course, there's still business on the docket that needs attention this year. here are three places where i think we can work together over the next several weeks before this congress wraps up for the holidays. first, i'm submitting a request to congress for funding to ensure that our doctors, scientists and troops have the resources that they need to combat the spread of ebola in africa and to increase our preparedness for any future cases here at home. second, i'm going to begin engaging congress over a new authorization to use military force against isil. the world needs to know we are united behind this effort and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. third, back in september congress passed short-term legislation to keep the government open and operating until december. that gives congress five weeks

to pass a budget for the rest of the fiscal year. and i hope they'll do it in the same bipartisan, drama-freew wa they did earlier this year. when our country is steadily creating jobs, which they are, we don't want to inject any uncertainty into the world economy and the american economy. the point is, it's time for us to take care of business. there are things this country has to do that can't wait another two years or another four years. there are plans this country has to put in place for our future and the truth is, i'm optimistic about our future. i have good reason to be. i meet americans all across the country who are determined and big-hearted and ask what they can do and never give up. and overcome obstacles. and they inspire me every single day. so, the fact is, i still believe in what i said when i was first elected six years ago last night. for all the maps plastered

across our tv screens today and for all the cynics who say otherwise, i continue to believe we are simply more than just a collection of red and blue states. we are the united states. and whether it's immigration or climate change or making sure our kids are going to the best possible schools to making sure that our communities are creating jobs, whether it's stopping the spread of terror and disease to opening up doors of opportunity to everybody who's willing to work hard and take responsibility, the united states has big things to do. we can and we will make progress if we do it together. and i look forward to the work ahead. so, with that, let me take some questions. i think that our team has got my list. we're going to start with julie pace at associated press. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. you said during this election that while your name wasn't on the ballot, your policies were.

despite the optimism you're expressing here, last night was a devastating night for your party. given that, do you feel any responsibility to recalibrate your agenda for the next two years? and what changes do you need to make in your white house and in your dealings with republicans in order to address the concerns that voters expressed with your administration? >> well, as i said in my opening remarks, the american people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn't work well. and that it is not attentive to their needs. and as president, they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. i'm the guy who's elected by everybody. want just from a particular state or a particular district. and they want me to push hard to close some of these divisions, break through some of the gridlock and get stuff done. so, the most important thing i can do is just get stuff done and help congress get some things done.

in terms of agenda items, though, julie, if you look as i just mentioned to a minimum wage increase, for example, that's something i talked about a lot during the campaign. where voters had a chance to vote directly on that agenda item, they voted for it. and so i think it would be hard to suggest that people aren't supportive of it. we know that the surveys consistently say they want to see that happen. the key is to find areas where the agenda that i've put forward, one i believe will help strengthen the middle class and create more ladders of opportunity into the middle class, improve our schools and make college more affordable to more young people and make sure that we're growing faster as an economy and we stay competitive, the key is to make sure that those ideas that i have overlap somewhere with some of the ideas that republicans have. there's not going to be perfect overlap. i mean, there are going to be some -- some ideas that i've got

that i think the evidence backs up would be good for the economy. and republicans disagree. they're not going to support those ideas. but i'm going to keep on arguing for them because i think the they're the right thing for the country to do. they have some ideas to improve the economy or create jobs that from my perspective isn't going to help middle class families improve their economic situation. so, i probably won't support theirs. but i do think there are going to be areas where we do agree. on infrastructure, on making sure that we're boosting american exports. and, you know, part of my task then is to reach out to republicans, make sure that i'm listening to them. i'm looking forward to them putting forward a very specific agenda in terms of what they would like to accomplish. let's compare notes in terms of what i'm looking at and what they're looking at, and let's

get started on those things where we agree. even if we don't agree 100%, let's get started on those things we agree 70%, 80%, 90%. and if we can do that, and build up some trust and improve how processes work in washington, then i think that's going to give the american people a little bit more confidence that, in fact, you know, their government is looking after them. >> reporter: but is there anything specific you feel you in your administration can do to change within this disastrous election for your party and listening to what voters said? >> julie, every single day i'm looking for, how can we do what we're doing better? whether that is delivering basic services the government provides to the american people, whether that is our capacity to work with congress so that they're

passing legislation. whether it's how we communicate with the american people about what our priorities and vision is. you know, we are constantly asking ourselves questions about, you know, how do we make sure that we're doing a better job? and that's not going to stop. i think that every election is a moment for reflection. and, you know, i think that everybody in this white house is going to look and say, all right, what do we need to do differently? but the principles that we're fighting for, the -- the things that motivate me every single day and motivate my staff every day, those things aren't going to change. there's going to be a consistent focus on how do we deliver more opportunity to more people in this country, how do we grow the economy faster, how do we put more people back to work? and, you know, i maybe have a naive confidence that if we

continue to focus on the american people, and not on, you know, our own ambitions or image or various concerns like that, that, you know, at the end of the day, when i look back, i'm going to be able to say, the american people are better off than they were before i was president. and that's my most important goal. so but the other thing i want to emphasize is, i've said this before, i want to reiterate it. if there are ideas the republicans have that i have confidence will make things better for ordinary americans, the fact that the republicans suggesting it as opposed to a democrat, that will be irrelevant to me. i want to just see what works. and there are some things like rebuilding our infrastructure or early childhood education that we know works. and i'm hoping that, you know, the kind of attitude and

approach that mitch mcconnell and john boehner have already discussed, their desire to get things done allows us to find some common ground. jeff mason. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. in 2010 you called the results of the midterm election a shellacking. what do you call this? can you give us your thoughts in the aftermath of the election, does it affect your plans to release it? is it likely to come out before the lame duck session is over? and have you reduced its scope to a couple million people? >> as i said in my opening statement, there's no doubt republicans had a good night. and what we're going to make sure that we do is to reach out to mitch mcconnell and john boehner who are now running both chambers in congress and find out what their agenda is.

and my hope is, is that they've got some specific things they want to do that correspond with some thins we want to get done. what's most important to the american people right now, the resounding message, not just of this election, but basically the last several, is get stuff done. don't worry about the next election. don't worry about party affiliation. do worry about our concerns. worry about the fact that i'm a single mom and at the end of the month it's hard for me to pay the bills because, in part, i've got these huge child care costs. do worry about the fact that i'm a young person who's qualified to go to college but i'm really worried about taking $50,000 a year out in debt and i don't know how i'd pay that back. do worry about the fact that i'm a construction worker who has been working all my life and i know that there's construction work that should be done but right now for some reason, projects are stalled.

if we're thinking about those folks, i think we're hopefully going to be able to get some stuff done. in terms of immigration, i have consistently said that it is my profound preference and interest to see congress act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill. that would strengthen our borders, would stream line our legal immigration system so it works better and we're attracting the best and the brightest from around the world and that we give an opportunity for folks who he lived here, in many cases for a very long time, may have kids who are u.s. citizens, but aren't properly documented. give them a chance to pay their back taxes, get in the back of the line, but get through a process that allows them to get legal. the senate on a bipartisan basis passed a good bill.

it wasn't perfect, it wasn't exactly what i wanted, but it was a sound, smart piece of legislation that really would greatly improve not just our immigration system but our economy and would improve business conditions here in the united states. and make sure that american-born workers aren't undercut by workers who are undocumented and aren't always padz paid a fair wage and as a consequence, employers who are breaking the rules are able to undercut folks who are doing the right thing. so, we got a bipartisan bill out of the senate. i asked john boehner at that point, can we pass this through the house? there's a majority of votes in the house to get this passed. and speaker boehner, i think, was sincere about wanting to pass it, but had difficulty over the last year getting it done. so, when he finally told me he wasn't going to call it up this

year, i indicated i feel obliged to do everything i can lawfully with my executive authority to make sure we don't keep on making the system worse. but that whatever executive actions that i take will be replaced and supplanted by action by congress. you send me a bill i can sign and those executive actions go away. that's a commitment i made not just to the american people and to businesses and evangelical community and law enforcement folks and everybody who's looked at this issue and thinks we need immigration reform, that's a commitment that i also made to john boehner. that i would act in the absence of action by congress. so, before the end of the year, we're going to take whatever lawful actions that i can take, that i believe will improve the functioning of our immigration

system, that will allow us to surge additional resources to the border, where i think the vast majority of americans have the deepest concern, and at the same time i'll be reaching out to both mitch mcconnell, john boehner and other republicans as well as democratic leaders to find out how it is that they want to proceed and if they want to get a bill done, whether it's during the lame duck or next year, i'm eager to see what they have to offer. but what i'm not going to do is just wait. i think it's fair to say that i've shown a lot of patience and have tried to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible. and i'm going to keep on doing so, but in the meantime, let's figure out what we can do lawfully through executive actions to improve the functioning of the existing system. >> reporter: how will you make sure that executive action -- [ inaudible ] can you give us a sense of whether or not you're thinking

about -- >> jeff, you know, i think if you want to get into the details of it, i suspect that when i announce that executive action, it will be rife with detail. and i'm sure there will be a lot of follow-up questions. chris jansing. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. i want to follow up on a couple of things and start with immigration. and are you concerned that if you sign an executive order on immigration before the end of the year, it will scuttle whatever chances there may be for there to be some sort of compromise on the issues you talked about? and i wonder given this unhappy electorate, clearly, and they seem to be disappointed with both sides, pretty much, why they punished the democrats more than the republicans, by far? >> well, as i said, when it comes to the political analysis, that's your job.

but what is also true is i am the president of the united states. and i think understandably people are going to ask for greater accountability and more responsibility from me than from anybody -- the way i try to conduct myself throughout this presidency is that i'm going to wake up every single day doing my absolute best to deliver for them. and there are areas where we've made real progress. i think economically i can look back and there is no doubt that almost, on almost every measure, we are better off economically than we were when i took office. but what is also true is there are still lots of folks who are still anxious and hurting and having trouble making ends meet,

or are worried about their children's future. and it's my job to give them some confidence that this town can work to respond to some of those worries that folks have. and we haven't done a good justify job convincing them of that. i understand that. they've been watching washington over the last two, four years, what they've seen is a lot of arguing and a lot of gridlock, but not a lot of concrete actions, at least legislatively, that have made a difference in their lives. and so we've got to make sure that we do a better job. and i'm committed to doing that. on immigration, i know that concerns have been expressed that, if you do something through executive actions, even if it's within your own authorities, than that will make it harder to pass immigration reform. i just have to remind everybody, i've heard that argument now for

a couple of years. this is an issue i actually wanted to get done in my first term. and we didn't see legislative action. and in my second term, i made it my top legislative priority. we got really work done by a bipartisan group of senators but it froze up in the house. and, you know, i think that the best way, if folks are serious about getting immigration reform done, is going ahead and passing a bill. and getting it to my desk. and then the executive actions that i take go away. they're superseded by the law that has passed. and i will engage any member of congress who's interested in this, in how we can shape legislation that will be a significant improvement over the existing system. but what we can't do is just keep on waiting. there's a cost to waiting. there's a cost to our economy. it means that resources are

misallocated. when the issue of unaccompanied children cropped up during this summer, there was a lot of folks who perceived this as a major crisis in our immigration system. now, the fact is that those numbers have now come down and they're approximately where they were a year ago or two years ago or year before that. but it did identify a real problem in a certain portion of the border where we got to get more resources. but those resources may be misallocated separating families right now that most of us, most americans would say, probably we'd rather have them just pay their back taxes, pay a fine, learn english, get to the back of the line, but we'll give you a pathway where you can be legal in this country. so where i've got executive authorities to do that, we should get started on that. but i want to emphasize once

again, if in fact republican leadership wants to see an immigration bill passed, they now have the capacity to pass it and hopefully engaging with me and democrats in both the house and the senate, it's a bill that i can sign because it addresses the real concerns that are out there. and the sooner they do it, the sooner the better. jonathan karl. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. mitch mcconnell has been the republican leader for six years, as long as you've been president. but his office tells me he's only met with you one-on-one once or twice during that entire six-year period. i'm wondering as someone who who came to washington promising to end the hyperpartisanship before you were president, but gotten worse since you've been here, was it a mistake for you to do so little to develop relationships with republicans in congress? >> i think that every day i'm

asking myself, are there some things i can do better? and i'm going to keep on asking that every single day. the fact is that most of my interactions with members of congress have been cordial and they've been constructive. oftentimes, though, we just haven't been able to get what's discussed in a leadership meeting through caucuses in the house and the senate to deliver a bill. the good news is that now mitch mcconnell and john boehner are from the same party. i think they can come together and decide what their agenda is. they've got sufficient majorities to make real progress on some of these issues. and, you know, i'm certainly going to be spending a lot more

time with them now because that's the only way we're going to be able to get some stuff done. and i take them at their word, that they want to produce. they're in the majority. they need to present their agenda. i need to put forward my best ideas. i think the american people are going to be able to watch us and they're paying attention, to see whether or not we're serious about actually compromising and being constructive. and my commitment to them, and i've said this when i spoke to them, is that anywhere where we can find common ground, i'm eager to pursue it. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell, that you joked about at the white house dinner? >> you know, i would enjoy having some kentucky bourbon with mitch mcconnell. i don't know what his preferred drink is, but, you know, my interactions with mitch

mcconnell, he's always been very straightforward with me. to his credit, he has never made a promise that he couldn't deliver. and, you know, he knows the legislative process well. he obviously knows his caucus well. you know, he's always given me, i think, realistic assessments of what he can get through his caucus and what he can't. so i think we can have a productive relationship. bill mattingly. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. another deadline coming up is on your negotiators by november 24th have to figure out if they're going to reach a deal with iran on a nuclear area -- a nuclear agreement. i'm interested what your current perspective is on how those negotiations are going. also, if it is your feeling that you have the power to implement any type of agreement that's reached without any action from

congress? and also, wanted to quickly touch on the amuf you mentioned. is that more of a codifiction or what should we be looking for when you send it to the hill? >> on the amuf, the leaders are coming here friday. an expanded group, not just the four leaders but a larger group who all have an interest in the issues we're discussing today. i'm also going to invite lloyd austin, centcon commander to make a presentation about how our fight against isil is proceeding and make sure congress is fully briefed on what we're doing there. with respect to the aumf, we've already had conversations with members of both parties in congress. and the idea is to right size and update whatever

authorization congress provides to suit the current fight rather than previous fights. in 2001, after the heart-breaking tragedy of 9/11, we had a very specific set of missions we had to conduct. and the aumf was designed to pursue those missions. with respect to iraq, there was a very specific aumf. we now have a different type of enemy, the strategy is different, how we partner with iraq and other gulf countries and the international coalition, that has to be structured differently. so, it makes sense for us to make sure that the authorization from congress reflects what we perceive to be not just our strategy over the next two or three months, but our strategy going forward. and it will be a process of listening to members of congress as well as us presenting what we

think needs to be the set of authorities that we have. and i'm confident we're going to be able to get that done. and that may just be a process of us getting it started now. it may carry over into the next -- into the next congress. on iran, because of the unprecedented sanctions that we put in place that really did have a crippling effect on iran's economy, they've come to the table and they've negotiated seriously around providing assurances that they're not developing a nuclear weapon for the first time. and they have abided by the interim rules. we have been able to freeze their program, in some cases reduce the stockpile of nuclear material that they already had in hand. and the discussions, the negotiations, have been constructive. the international community has

been unified and cohesive. there haven't been a lot of cracks in our alliance. you know, even countries where we have some differences, like russia, have agreed with us, and have worked with us cooperatively in trying to find ways to make sure that we can verify and have confidence going forward that iran doesn't have the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon that could not only threaten friends of ours like israel, trigger a nuclear arms race in the region, but could over the long term potentially threaten us. whether we can actually get a deal done, we're going to have to find out over the next three to four weeks. we have presented to them a framework that would allow them to meet their peaceful energy needs. and if, in fact, what their leadership says, that they don't want to develop a nuclear

weapon, if that is, in fact, true, then they've got an avenue here to provide that assurance to the world community and in a progressive step-by-step verifiable way, allow them to get out from under sanctions so that they can re-enter as full-fledged members of the international community. but they have their own politics. and there's a long tradition of mistrust between the two countries. and there's a sizeable portion of the political elite that cut its teeth on anti-americanism and still finds it convenient to blame america for every ill that there is. and whether -- whether they can manage to say yes to what clearly would be better for iran, better for the region and better for the world is an open question. we'll find out over the next -- over the next several weeks.

>> reporter: sir, if the -- on whether or not you have the power unilaterally to relax sanctions to implement an agreement. >> yeah. there are a series of different sanctions. there are multilateral sanctions, there are u.n. sanctions, there are sanctions that have been imposed by us, this administration unilaterally, and i think it's different for each of those areas. but i don't want to put the cart before the horse. what i want to do is see if we, in fact, have a deal. if we do have a deal that i have confidence will prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon and that we can convince the world and the public will prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon, then, you know, it will be time to engage in congress. and i think that we'll be able to make a strong argument to congress that this is the best way for us to avoid a nuclear iran. that it will be more effective than any other alternatives we

might take, including military action. but that requires it being a good deal. and i've said consistently that i'd rather have no deal than a bad deal. because what we don't want to do is lift sanctions and provide iran legitimacy but not have the verifiable mechanisms to make sure that they don't break out and produce a nuclear weapon. ed henry. i missed you guys. i haven't done this in a while. >> reporter: i missed you. thank you, mr. president. i haven't heard you say a specific thing during this news conference that you would do differently. you've been asked it a few different ways. i understand you're going to reach out but you've talked about doing that before. it's almost like you're doubling down on the same policies and approach you've had for six years. so my question is, why not pull a page from the clinton playbook and admit you have to make a much more dramatic shift in course for these last two years? and on isis, pretty dramatic

setback in the last few days appearing the syrian rebels were routed, gitmo detainees joining isis and other terror groups. so my question is, are we winning? >> well, i think it's too early to say whether we are winning because, as i said at the outset of the isil campaign, this is going to be a long-term plan to solidify the iraqi government, to solidify their security forces, to make sure that in addition to our air cover, that they have the capacity to run a ground game that pushes isil back from some of the territories that they had taken. that we have a strong international coalition that we've now not. but that they are on the ground, providing the training, providing the equipment, providing the supplies that are

necessary for iraqis to fight on behalf of their territory. and what i also said was that in syria, that's been complicated and that's not going to be solved any time soon. our focus in syria is not to solve the entire syria situation, but, rather, to isolate the areas in which isil can operate. and there is no doubt that because of the extraordinary bravery of our men and women in uniform and the precision of our pilots and the strikes that have taken place, that isil is in a more vulnerable position and it is more difficult for them to maneuver than it was previously. now, there is a specific issue about trying to get a moderate opposition in syria that can serve as a partner with us on the ground. that's always been the hardest piece of business to get done. there are a lot of opposition groups in syria.

along a spectrum from radical jihadists who are our enemies to folks who believe in inclusive democracy and everything in between. they fight among each other. they are fighting the regime. and what we're trying to do is to find a core group that we can work with that we have confidence in, that we vetted, that can help in regaining territory from isil, and then ultimately serve as a responsible party to sit at the table in eventual political negotiations that are probably some ways off in the future. that's always been difficult. as you know, one of the debates has consistently been, you know, should the obama administration provide more support to the opposition? could that have averted some of

the problems that are taking place in syria? and as i've said before, part of the challenge is, it's a messy situation. this is not a situation where we have one single unified broad-based, effective, reliable -- [ inaudible ] >> let me answer the question. and so what we are going to continue to test is, can we get a more stable, effective, cohesive, moderate opposition? but that's not the sole measure of whether we are, quote/unquote, winning or not. remember our first focus here, ed, is to drive isil out of iraq. what we're doing in syria is, first and foremost, in service of reducing isil's capacity to resupply and send troops and then run back in over the syrian border to eventually re-establish a border between iraq and syria so that slowly iraq regains control of its security and its territory. that is our number one mission.

that is our number one focus. there are aspects of what's going on in syria that, you know, we've got to deal with in order to reduce the scope of isil's operations. so, for example, our support for kurds in kobani, where they've been able to hold off isil and where we've been able to effectively strike isil positions consistently, that's not just because we're trying to solve a syria problem. that's also because it gives us an opportunity to further weaken isil so that we can meet our number one mission, which is iraq. in terms of things to do differently. you know, i guess, ed, the question you're asking is one, actually, i think i have answered. if you're asking about personnel or if you're asking about position on issues or what have you, then it's probably

premature because i want to hear what -- what -- >> reporter: there's something about your leadership -- >> ed, what i -- what i'd like to do is to hear from the republicans to find out what it is that they would like to see happen. and what i'm committing to is making sure that i am open to working with them on the issues that -- where they think that there's going to be cooperation. now, that isn't a change because i've suggested to them before that where they think there's areas of cooperation, i'd like to see us get some things done. but the fact that they now control both chambers of congress, i think, means that perhaps they have more confidence that they can pass their agenda and get a bill on my desk. it means that negotiations end up, perhaps, being a little more real because, you know, they have larger majorities, for

example, in the house. they may be able to get some things through their caucuses they couldn't before. but the bottom line that the american people want to know and that i'm going to repeat here today, is that my number one goal, because i'm not running again. i'm not on the ballot. i don't have any further political aspirations. my number one goal is just to deliver as much as i can for the american people in these last two years. and wherever i see an opportunity, no matter how large or how small, to make it a little easier for a kid to go to college, make it a little more likely that somebody's finding a good paying job, make it a little more likely that somebody has high-quality health care, even if i'm not getting a whole loaf, i'm interested in getting whatever legislation we can get

passed that adds up to improved prospects and improved future for the american people. sam stein. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. following the election, congressional republicans are pushing once again for major reforms to your health care act. in the past you've said you're open to good ideas. can you tell us what specific ideas you're ruling out? have the election results changed your calculus on reforms the law? and how confident are you in heading into the second enrollment period? and on a totally unrelated matter, have you settled on a nominee to replace eric holder and if so, who is it? >> you guys want to spread out your news a little bit, don't you? you don't want it all in just one big bang. on the attorney general, we have a number of outstanding candidates who we're taking a look at now. and in due course, i will have an announcement, and you'll be

there, sam, when that's announced. but i'm confident that we'll find somebody who is well qualified, will uphold their constitutional obligations and rule of law, and will get confirmed by the senate. on health care, there are certainly some lines i'm going to draw. repeal of the law, i won't sign. efforts that would take away health care from the 10 million people who now have it and the millions more who are eligible to get it, we're not going to support. in some cases there may be recommendations that republicans have for changes that would undermine the structure of the law. and, you know, i'll be very

honest with them about that and say, look, the law doesn't work if you pull out that piece or that piece. on the other hand, what i have said is there's no law that's ever been passed that is perfect. and given the contentious nature in which it was passed in the first place, there are places where, if i were just drafting a bill on our own, we would have made those changes back then, and certainly as we've been implementing, there are some other areas where we think we can do even better. so, you know, if, in fact, one of the items on mitch mcconnell's agenda and john boehner's agenda is to make responsible changes to the affordable care act, to make it work better, i'm going to be very open and receptive to hearing those ytdz. but what i will remind them is that despite all the contention,

we now know that the law works. you've got millions of people who have health insurance who didn't have it before. you've got states that have expanded medicaid to folks who did not have it before, including republican governors, who have concluded this is a good deal for their state. and despite some of the previous predictions, even as we've enrolled more people into the affordable care act and given more people the security of health insurance, health care inflation has gone down every single year since the law passed, so that we now have the lowest increase in health care costs in 50 years. which is saving us about $180 billion in reduced overall costs to the federal government and the medicare program. so, we are, i think, really

proud of the work that's been done. but there's no doubt that there are areas where we can improve it, so i'll look forward to seeing what lists they've got of improvements. >> reporter: individual mandates one of those lines you can't cross? >> the individual mandate is a line i can't cross because the concept, borrowed from massachusetts, from a law instituted by a former opponent of mine, mitt romney, understood that if you're providing health insurance to people through the private marketplace, then you've got to make sure that people can't game the system and just wait until they get sick before they go try to buy health insurance. you can't ensure people with preexisting conditions can get health insurance unless you say, while you're health y before you need it, you've got to -- you've got to get health insurance. obviously, there are hardship

exemptions. we understand there are some folks even with the generous subdy su subsidies provided, still can't afford it. in terms of enrollment, we'll do some additional announcements about that in the days to come. starting in the middle of this month, people can sign up again. i think there are a number of people who the first time around sat on the sidelines in part because of our screw-ups on healthcare.gov. that's one area, ed, by the way, is really particular. we're really making sure the website works really well before the next open enrollment period. we're double and triple-checking it. and so i think a lot of people who maybe initially thought, we're not sure how this works, let's wait and see. they're going to have an opportunity now to sign up. and what's been terrific is to see how more private insurers

have come into the marketplace, so that there's greater competition in more markets all around the country. the premiums that have come in, that are available to people and the choices that are available are better than a lot of people, i think, had predicted. so the law's working. that doesn't mean it can't be improved. major garrett. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. if you do miss us, allow me to humbly suggest we do this every week. >> we might. who knows. i'm having a great time. >> reporter: moments before you walked out here, sir, mitch mcconnell said, and i quote, if you, in fact, use your executive authority to legalize a certain number of millions of undocumented workers it would poison the well, direct quote, and it would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. do you not believe that is the considered opinion of the new

republican majority in the house and the senate? and do you also not believe what they have said in the aftermath of last night's results that the verdict rendered by voters should stop you or prevented you from taking this action because it was a subtext in many of the campaigns? let me ask you a couple of specifics. republicans haven't made a mystery about. so thins -- >> do i have to write all these down, major? >> reporter: you're very well familiar with these. keystone xl pipeline, they will send you legislation on that. they will ask you to repeal the medical device tax as a part of a funding mechanism of the affordable care act. and they have said they would like to repat tree ate $2 million of offshore at corporate level by reforming the corporate tax code. are any of those three lines you cannot cross and also deal with what you perceive to be republican attitudes about immigration? >> all right. i think, major, that i answered the question on immigration. i have no doubt that there will

be some republicans who are angered or frustrated by any executive action that i may take. those are folks, i just have to say, who are also deeply opposed to immigration reform. in any form. and blocked the house from being able to pass a bipartisan bill. i have said before that i actually believe that john boehner is sincere about wanting to get immigration reform passed. which is why for a year i held off taking any action beyond what we'd already done for the so-called dream kids. and did everything i could to give him space and room to get something done.

and what i also said at the time was, if, in fact congress -- if this congress could not get something done, then i would take further executive actions in order to make the system work better, understanding that any bill that they pass will subplant the executive actions i will take. so i just want to reemphasize this, major. if, in fact, there's an eagerness of the part of the republicans to tackle a broken immigration system, then they have every opportunity to do it. my executive actions not only do not prevent them from passing a law that supercedes those actions, then i am spurred to get something done. i am engaged every step of the

way with their ideas. i think we should have further broad-based conversation among the american people. should say the unaccompanied children changed a lot of attitudes and also that the public did not understand that was a very temporary and isolated effect and, in fact, we have fewer illegal immigrants coming in today than we did five years ago, ten years ago, or 20 years ago, but what we also have is a system that is not serving our economy well. >> there are republicans who say the economy was a public referendum. >> as i said before, i don't want to try to read the tea leaves on election results. what i am going to try to do as president is to make sure i'm advancing what i think is best for the country. and here's an opportunity where

i can use my administrative authorities, executive authorities, and lawful try to make improvements on the existing system, understanding that that's not going to fix the entire problem, and we're much better off if we go ahead and pass a comprehensive bill, and i hope that the republicans really want to get a pass. if they do, they're going to have a lot of cooperation from me. so let me just take off. on keystone, there's an independent process. it's moving forward, and i'm going to let that process play out. i've given some parameters in terms of how i think about it. ultimately, is it going be good for the american people? sit going to be good for their pocketbooks? is it actually going to be good for jobs? is it going to cause gas prices to continue coming down? and is it going to increase net, something on climate change that we're going to have to deal with?

>> there's a pending case before a nebraska judge about some of the sighting and the process is moving forward and i'm just going to gather up the notes. i will note while there's this debate about canadian oil that's been raging, keep in mind this is canadian, not u.s. oil, while it's been raging, we receive some of the biggest increases in american oil production and american gas production in our history. we're closer to energy independence than we have ever been before or at least as we've been in decades. we're importing less foreign oil than we produce for the first time in a very long time. we've got a 100-year supply of natural gas that if we responsibly tap puts us in the strongest position when it comes to energy of any industrialized country around the world. when i travel to asia or i

travel to europe, their biggest envy is the incredible home grown u.s. energy production that is producing jobs and attracting manufacturing because locating here means you've got lower energy costs. so our energy sector is booming, and i'm happy to engage republicans with additional ideas on how we can enhance that. i should note that our clean energy production is booming as well. and so keystone, i just consider as one small aspect of a broader trend that's really positive for the american people. and let's see. see -- okay. medical device tax. i've already answered the question. we're going to take look at whatever ideas -- let me take a look come prehenceably at the ideas they present. let's give them time to tell me

-- i'd rather hear it from them than from you. >> i'm telling you what they said. >> conceivably i could just cancel my meeting on friday because i've heard everything from you. i think i'd rather let mitch mcconnell -- hear from mitch mcconnell and john boehner and what ideas they'd like to pursue and we'll have a conversation on that. on repatriation i said in my opening remarks there's a package we can do that's good for jobs and could potentially finance infrastructure here in the united states. now, the devil's in the details. now, thing conceptually it's something where we may have some overlap, and i'm very interested in pursuing ideas that can put folks to work right now and roads and bridges and waterways and ports and a better air traffic control system. if we had one, by the way, we

could reduce delays by about 30%, reduce fuel costs for airlines by about 30%, and hopefully that would translate into cheaper airline tickets which everybody would be interested in. there's all kinds of ideas we can work on with regard to infrastructure. this is something americans may be comfortable in financing those kinds of efforts, so that will be part of the discussion that i think we're prepared for on friday and in the weeks to come leading into the new congress. whew. major -- major works me, man. >> thank you, mr. president. i know you don't want to read the tea leaves, but it is a fact that your party rejected you in these midterms. by and large, they did not want you out on the campaign trail in these key battleground states. how do you account for that? and your aides have said this is the fourth quarter of your administration. but i don't know if you saw the

morning talk show, but there were several potential candidates for 2016 who are out there already. is the clock ticking? are you running out of time? how much time do you have left? and what do you make of the motion that you're now a lame duck? >> well, traditionally after the last midterm of the two-term presidency since i can't run again, that's the label that you guys apply. here ee's what i tell my team. i told them this last week, and i told them this this morning. we had this incredible privilege of being in charge of the most important organization on earth, the u.s. government and our military and everything that we do for good around the world, and there's a lot of work to be done to make government work better, to make americans safer,

to make opportunity available to more people, for us to be able to have a positive influence in every corner of the globe the way we're doing right now in west africa, and i'm going to squeeze every last little bit of opportunity to help make this world a better place over these last two years. and some of that is going to be what we can do administratively, you know, simple things like how do we make customer service better in every agency. are there things we can do to streamline how our veterans access care? are their bre better ways we ca make businesses understand the

programs that available to them to promote their exports. there's a whole bunch of stuff to do on that front and as i said before, there's going to be opportunity to work with democrats and republicans on capitol hill to get laws done. and if you look at the history of almost every president, those last two years, all kinds of stuff happens, in some cases, stuff we couldn't predict. so the one thing i'm pretty confident about, jim, is i'm going to be busy for the next two years, and the one thing that i want the american people to be confident about is that every day i'm going to be filling up my time trying to figure out how i can make their lives better. and if i'm doing that at the end of my presidency, i'll say we played that fourth quarter well and we played the game well, and the only difference between i guess basketball and politics is that the only score that matters

is how did somebody else do, not how you did. and that's the score i'm keeping. am i going to be able to look back and say are more people working? are their bank accounts better? are more kids going to college? is housing improved? is the financial system more stable? are younger kids getting a better education? do we have a greater energy independence? is the environmental cleaner? have we done something about climate change? have we, you know, dealt with an ongoing terrorist threat and helped to bring about stability around the world? you know, and those things every single day i've got an opportunity to make a difference on those fronts. >> you're not satisfied where you're at now. >> absolutely not. i wouldn't be satisfied as long as i'm mti