In his weekly radio address, President Barack Obama urged Congress to act on a package of long-stalled proposals he said would stimulate hiring, citing the sluggish economic growth that let to Friday’s poor unemployment report.

The President spoke to the American people from a Honeywell manufacturing facility in Minnesota about his proposal to make it easier for companies to hire returning service members for jobs that utilize their skills and help grow the U.S. economy.

Obama added that it’s time for Congress to get to work on his proposals to grow the economy and create jobs, such as getting construction workers back on the job, giving small business owners a tax break for hiring more workers, giving responsible homeowners the opportunity to refinance their mortgages, and ensuring that women have equal pay for equal work.

“But from the moment we first took action to prevent another depression, we knew the road to recovery wouldn’t be easy. We knew it would take time, that there would be ups and downs along the way. But we also knew that if we were willing to act wisely, and boldly, and together; if we were willing to keep at it, and never quit, we would come back stronger,” said Obama.

Nothing has shaken my faith in that belief.  We will come back stronger.  We do have better days ahead.  And that’s because of you.  I would place my bet on American workers and American businesses any day of the week.  You’re the reason our auto industry has come roaring back.  You’re the reason manufacturing is hiring at its fastest pace since the 1990s.  You work hard. You play by the rules. And what you deserve are leaders who will do the same; who will do whatever it takes to fight for the middle-class and grow this economy faster.  Because while we can’t fully control everything that happens in other parts of the world, there are plenty of things we can control here at home.  There are plenty of steps we can take right now to help create jobs and grow this economy.

I sent Congress a jobs bill last September full of the kinds of bipartisan ideas that would have put our fellow Americans back to work and helped reinforce our economy against those outside shocks.  I sent them a plan that would have reduced the deficit by $4 trillion in a way that’s balanced – that pays for the job-creating investments we need by cutting unnecessary spending and asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes.

Since then, Congress has only passed a few parts of that jobs bill, like a tax cut that’s allowing working Americans to keep more of your paycheck every week.  That was important.  But Congress hasn’t acted on enough of the other ideas in that bill that would make a difference and help create jobs right now. And there’s no excuse for that.  Not when so many people are looking for work.  Not when so many people are struggling to pay the bills.

So my message to Congress is, get to work.