Vice President Biden watched as President Obama spoke earlier today in the White House briefing room.

He will push those proposals "without delay," President Obama pledged today. In the wake of Friday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, the president repeated that he will "use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts to prevent more tragedies."

Saying the nation has a "deep obligation" to take steps to reduce gun violence, President Obama confirmed Wednesday that he's asked Vice President Biden to head a task force charged with drafting "concrete proposals, no later than January."

And, Obama said, he will push them "without delay."

Repeating some of the themes he has previously stressed about gun violence and Friday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., the president said that "sometimes ... words need to lead to action. ... The fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing."

Obama noted that polls show the majority of Americans "support banning the sale of military-style" assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. Also, most Americans support "background checks before all gun purchases," he said, as one way to prevent an "unbalanced man" from getting his hands on such weapons.

"I will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts to prevent more tragedies" such as Friday's, the president said.

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