In his weekly radio and online address Saturday, Obama said that with the economy still struggling to recover from the recession, the US cannot afford unnecessary spending on so-called earmarks, items lawmakers slip into spending bills without a full examination or debate.

“When it comes to signaling our commitment to fiscal responsibility, addressing them would have an important impact,” Obama said from Asia, where he was wrapping up a 10-day trip.

However, Obama stopped short of calling for a full ban on earmarks, saying some of them “support worthy projects in our local communities.”

While he said steps must be taken to limit wasteful spending, he offered no specific proposals for how to do so.

The top Republicans in the House of Representatives, John Boehner and Eric Cantor, issued a joint statement welcoming Obama’s remarks on earmark reform. But they also raised the stakes, challenging Obama to immediately agree to veto any spending bills that include earmarks.

Boehner and Cantor said House Republicans, including all newly elected lawmakers, will vote next week on a measure that would ban pet projects when the new session of Congress starts in January.

The Republican leaders called on Obama to urge House Democrats to hold a similar vote.

In the Republicans’ weekly address, Rep. Greg Walden outlined the Republicans’ top priorities: creating jobs, cutting spending and reforming Congress.

Walden, who is running the Republican transition committee after the party’s House takeover in the midterm elections, said plans are being made to make the legislative process more open, including the installation of cameras in the Rules Committee, where decisions are made on what bills and amendments come to the floor for a vote.