Obama calls for Congress to act on jobs bill

US President Barack Obama said Thursday that here is "no doubt" the economy is weaker now than it was at the beginning of the year and urged Congress to act on his plans to boost the economy and create jobs. "If we don't take action than we could end up having more significant problems than we have right now," said Obama, who has spent weeks touting his 447-billion-dollar jobs proposal. The senate is to take up Obama's jobs bill next week, and Obama told reporters at a press conference that he believes members of both parties should support the effort that he said includes proposals that have in the past been supported by both parties. "I believe it's very hard to argue against it," he said. Obama rolled out the proposal in an address to Congress last month in a bid to spur hiring and jolt the lagging economy, amid 9.1-per-cent unemployment. The measure includes a combination of infrastructure spending and tax cuts designed to jump start the economy, immediately increasing worker paychecks while trimming employers' payroll costs. The benefits are targeted to making it cheaper for small businesses both raise pay and hire new workers.