Obama: Congress has ?no excuse? not to pass jobs agenda

Obama?s remarks came a week after the Labor Department reported a steep decline in growth, with the economy creating just 69,000 new jobs in May, far below expectations of most economists. The dim news, which also included a downward revision of the April jobs numbers to just 77,000, has threatened to set back Obama?s reelection message that the economy has been steadily recovering from the recession three years ago.

Economic trouble in Europe and Asia offers no respite to the United States, and Obama warned again of ?headwinds? from the European debt crisis that has pushed Greece and Spain on the brink of bankruptcy.

?Given the signs of weakness in the world economy, it?s critical that we take actions we can to strengthen the American economy right now,? said Obama, who will meet with foreign leaders of the world?s largest economies at the Group of 20 summit in two weeks.

The president did not offer new proposals, but instead urged Congress to ?reconsider? its opposition to most of the provisions of the American Jobs Act that Obama rolled out last fall.

Although Congress did approve some of that bill?s provisions, including an extension to the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment insurance, major initiatives aimed at giving states and cities money to retain teachers, firefighters and police officers, as well as new infrastructure projects that would put construction workers back on the job, were blocked by Republicans.

Obama, who said his administration has helped create 4.3 million jobs in the past 27 months, blamed cutbacks in state and local government budgets for stifling the economic recovery. But GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have said the president?s jobs plan does not do enough to tame the spiraling deficit.

?The private sector is doing a good job creating jobs,? Obama said. ?The private sector is doing fine.?

Republican pounced on the comment, suggesting Obama was underplaying the extent of the economic conditions that have slowed job creation. Republican challenger Mitt Romney has focused his campaign largely on the economy, touting his experience as former head of Bain Capital, a private equity firm, to argue that he could orchestrate a faster recovery.

During a campaign appearance in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Romney accused Obama of making an ?extraordinary miscalculation? that will ?go down in history.?

?He said the private sector is doing fine,? Romney said. ?Is he really that out of touch? I think he?s defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people. Has there ever been an American president who is so far from reality??

In campaign speeches across the country, Obama has blamed Republican obstinance for standing in the way of a more robust recovery. On Friday, Obama noted the European leaders, led by new French President Francois Hollande, have begun to discussing a growth plan to help propel the euro out of its weakened state, moving away from the more-severe austerity program previously touted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

That offered a lesson for Republicans, Obama suggested.

?It?s a lot easier to reduce deficit and debt when you?re growing,? he said.

Staff writer Philip Rucker in Iowa contributed to this story.

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