Gerald
09-06-11, 04:03 AM
US President Barack Obama has used a Labor Day address to a lively, sympathetic crowd to call on his rivals to back his plans for job creation.
"We just need to get Congress on board," he told supporters in Detroit, Michigan, saying labour and business were already behind his plans.
On Thursday, Mr Obama will use an address to a joint session of Congress to set out job-growth strategy.
The US economy has stalled recently, with no extra jobs created in August.
The news was a gloomy prelude to the annual Labor Day holiday, which celebrates the role of the worker in American life.
'Tune in'
Speaking in Detroit, the president said his forthcoming plan would enable construction workers "to get dirty" building roads and bridges, and called for the "straight shooters in Congress" to support his plans.
He also ratcheted up political pressure on Congressional Republicans, saying: "Prove you'll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies."
The White House has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress since Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in 2010 mid-term elections.
A bitter fight over raising the US debt ceiling ended in a last-minute compromise in July, with more partisan disagreement expected in the coming months over the key issue of jobs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14793919
Note: 6 September 2011 Last updated at 00:51 GMT
"We just need to get Congress on board," he told supporters in Detroit, Michigan, saying labour and business were already behind his plans.
On Thursday, Mr Obama will use an address to a joint session of Congress to set out job-growth strategy.
The US economy has stalled recently, with no extra jobs created in August.
The news was a gloomy prelude to the annual Labor Day holiday, which celebrates the role of the worker in American life.
'Tune in'
Speaking in Detroit, the president said his forthcoming plan would enable construction workers "to get dirty" building roads and bridges, and called for the "straight shooters in Congress" to support his plans.
He also ratcheted up political pressure on Congressional Republicans, saying: "Prove you'll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies."
The White House has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress since Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in 2010 mid-term elections.
A bitter fight over raising the US debt ceiling ended in a last-minute compromise in July, with more partisan disagreement expected in the coming months over the key issue of jobs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14793919
Note: 6 September 2011 Last updated at 00:51 GMT