President Barack Obama is addressing the state of the economy at a press conference at the White House.
He's urging Congress to pass the package of infrastructure spending and aid to the states that he first proposed last fall as a way to employ construction workers, public school teachers, firefighters and other workers.
The lackluster economy has created doubts about Obama’s re-election chances: the Labor Department said last Friday that nonfarm payroll employment increased in May by only 69,000, far fewer new jobs that most economists had expected.
The press conference comes as Obama finds himself in a tight race with Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney and a few days after the president’s labor union allies suffered a stinging defeat in Wisconsin when their attempt to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker failed.
On Thursday came another piece of worrisome news for Obama: last month for the first time Romney’s campaign raised significantly more money than Obama’s for the first time, outpacing Obama by about $16 million.