President mulls new measures to spark economy

Washington (CNN) -- On this Labor Day, the White House will put its focus squarely back on the economy, following a week where the Obama administration concentrated on Middle East peace talks and the end of America's combat role in Iraq.

The address will be the first of two speeches this week in which President Barack Obama will try and frame his administration's response to the recession, less than two months ahead of midterm elections where Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are on the ropes.

Obama will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday, speaking at a Labor Day event in a state that has extremely competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.

Then on Wednesday, he will deliver an economic speech in hard-hit Cleveland, Ohio, in a state that also has very competitive gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House battles that will help determine control of both chambers of Congress.

Obama said his message will be "my administration remains focused, every single day, on pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that's been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work."

In Milwaukee, the president will lay out what the White House calls "a bold vision for renewing and expanding our transportation infrastructure."

The plan would call for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; constructing and maintaining 4,000 miles of railways and rehabilitate or rebuild 150 miles of runways for air traffic, while modernizing the nation's air traffic control system in an effort to reduce delays and travel time.

The transportation proposal is among a set of targeted initiatives Obama will outline in Cleveland on Wednesday, a White House official said. "The plan builds upon the infrastructure investments the president has already made through the Recovery Act, includes principles the president put forth during the campaign and emphasizes American competitiveness and innovation," the official said.

The administration hopes that both parties can work together on the transportation initiative, the White House said.

Obama plans to work with Congress to enact a $50 billion "up-front investment," and then pair it with "a long-term framework to reform and expand our nation's investment in transportation infrastructure." the White House statement said. "As with other long-run policies, the administration is committed to working with Congress to fully pay for the plan."

The long-term framework includes establishment of an Infrastructure Bank "to leverage federal dollars and focus on investments of national and regional significance that often fall through the cracks in the current siloed transportation programs," the White House said.

However, a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday indicates the White House has some work to do to win over the American public on its ability to manage the economy.

The poll indicates that the public still gives the president poor marks on it - with four in 10 giving him a thumbs up on the economy and nearly six in 10 disapproving of his track record on the issue, which remains No. 1 in the minds of Americans.

Senior aides confirm the president recently asked his economic team to come up with various proposals he could roll out to show that amid high anxiety across the nation, he's still working hard to jump-start the economy -- including more federal spending on infrastructure projects and tax cuts popular with the business community, such as a permanent extension of the research and development tax credit.

Obama himself hinted at the options on the table last week in the Rose Garden, when he accused Republicans of blocking a separate $55 billion legislation package that would cut small business taxes. Senate Democrats hope to pass the package later this month and get it to the president's desk before the election.

"My economic team is hard at work in identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term, and increasing our economy's competitiveness in the long term," Obama said. "Steps like extending the tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year. Redoubling our investment in clean energy and R&D. Rebuilding more of our infrastructure for the future. Further tax cuts to encourage businesses to put their capital to work creating jobs here in the United States."