(CNSNews.com) - Republican leaders are reminding President Obama that the House of Representatives has passed more than a dozen "pro-growth" measures to spur job creation, but with one exception, Senate Democrats have refused to consider any of those bills.

In a letter to the president on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) listed all the House-passed "jobs" bills that are now languishing in the Senate.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Casting himself as America's CEO, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday outlined a sweeping economic plan that would reduce regulations and taxes on companies, sanction China over its currency practices and weaken the clout of labor unions.

Trying to hold off surging rival Rick Perry, Romney traveled to economically suffering Nevada and stood inside a giant truck warehouse to deliver his multi-point plan designed to position him as the GOP contender with the most comprehensive approach to fixing the economy.

"This is a business plan for America," Romney told supporters as he promoted his plan as one designed to modernize an economy he says is still oriented toward earlier decades -- and held up General Electric CEO Jack Welch and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs as "real deal" leaders in the U.S. economy.

Public pessimism about the direction of the country has jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, erasing the sense of hope that followed President Obama’s inauguration and pushing his approval ratings to a record low, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

More than 60 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and, what has become issue No. 1, the stagnant jobs situation.

WASHINGTON – Members of Congress spent August listening to constituents describe their economic struggles. This week, the lawmakers return to Washington to see whether there's enough bipartisanship left to make things better.

Republicans and Democrats agree that job creation is the first priority, but there's little indication so far that the two sides will come together.

President Barack Obama, who will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, challenged Republicans in a Labor Day speech to put country ahead of party and work with Democrats on a jobs package. He said more than 1 million unemployed construction workers are ready to rebuild deteriorating roads and bridges.

Majority Republicans in the House, however, have been unwilling to spend money on new construction projects -- a strong signal that they'll give Obama's address a cool reception.

Besides spending on public works, Obama said he wants pending trade deals passed to open new markets for U.S. goods.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an enthusiastic crowd of Hispanic Republicans on Friday that they are "living proof" of the benefits of legal immigration, but said he wanted to toughen enforcement on illegal immigration.

Romney, who discussed the economy and immigration at a meeting of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Florida, promised that he would secure the borders if elected.

"I am a great proponent of legal immigration," he said.

President Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to shelve proposed regulations for new air-quality standards, citing the potential impact on the weak economy.

“I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested” that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson “withdraw” the proposed smog standards.

In making the move, Mr. Obama is sticking with air-quality standards set in 2008 by the administration of Republican George W. Bush, which Obama administration officials have said is based on outdated science.

The White House projects that the unemployment rate will still be above 9 percent next year as President Obama seeks to win a second term.

The new figures from the White House budget office predict that the economy will grow by just 1.7 percent this year, a full percentage point less than the administration predicted at the beginning of 2011. The economy grew by just 0.7 percent in the first half of the year, the slowest pace since the recession ended two years ago.

But the White House does not forecast the economy sliding back into recession.

The White House report also sees the budget deficit topping $1.3 trillion for the fiscal year that ends at the end of this month.

Fox News has learned that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will give a speech on jobs and the economy to the Economic Club of Washington on Sept. 15.

This is an address akin to one the speaker gave in May in New York.

Boehner's September speech was planned before the kerfuffle yesterday on the president's request to give his jobs speech before a Joint Session of Congress. But it was always intended to be a response to the address president planned to give in early September, regardless of the forum...

Will Barack Obama become the first president in the post-World War II era during whose term real gross domestic product never grew in any quarter at an annual rate greater than 4 percent?

With less than optimistic recent forecasts from the Federal Reserve System's Federal Open Market Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, it now seems like a very real possibility.

Having been inaugurated in January 2009, Obama has served as president in 10 quarters. Without doubt, he came into office in a severe recession. In three of the quarters of 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP grew at a negative annualized rate, dropping as low as -8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of that year.

At the beginning of Obama's term, real GDP remained negative in the first two quarters, hitting -6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and -0.7 percent in the second quarter.

But two full years have passed since then.

(CNSNews.com) - When asked questions about the president’s upcoming speech on jobs and economic growth yesterday, White House Spokesperson Jay Carney claimed that only the most ‘fervent partisan’ would suggest the 8 million plus jobs lost in this recession were lost because of actions Barack Obama took.

The question was asked by CBS reporter Norah O'Donnell. The exchange appears in the official White House transcript of the press briefing:

Q -- Jay, the question is what is different in this new speech? What is going to be different?

MR. CARNEY: Well, you will see what the President proposes to enhance growth, enhance hiring, and you will judge then what's different about the new ideas that are contained within it as well as ideas that you've heard about. But I can't let the premise go uncommented on when you talk about the amount of job loss in the time since the President took -- was sworn into office.