(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The outgoing U.S. Congress needs to pass a budget and keep the government open before it adjourns for the holidays, President Barack Obama said on Saturday in his weekly address.

"A Christmas shutdown is not a good idea," he said, adding that " when the new Congress convenes in January, we need to work together to invest in the things that support faster growth in higher-paying jobs." "Building new roads and bridges creates jobs," he said. "Growing our exports creates jobs. Reforming our outdated tax system and our broken immigration system creates jobs. Raising the minimum wage would benefit nearly 28 million American workers, giving them more money to spend at local businesses - and that helps those businesses create jobs." "America, we still have a lot of work to do together," the President said. "But we do have real, tangible evidence of our progress - 10.9 million new jobs; 10 million more Americans with health insurance. Manufacturing has grown. Our deficits have shrunk. Our dependence on foreign oil is down. Clean energy is up. More young Americans are graduating from high school and earning college degrees than ever before. Over the last four years, this country has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan and every advanced economy combined."