President Barack Obama has accused some members of Congress of focusing on next year's elections, instead of passing legislation to help the American people.

The president spoke at a rural economic forum in the state of Iowa Tuesday on the second day of a three-day bus tour of the U.S. midwest.

In an apparent reference to lawmakers who self-identify with the conservative Tea Party movement, Mr. Obama said “a small faction in Congress” was holding back a U.S. economic rebound. He also said Democrats and Republicans need to put “country ahead of party” and do the right thing for the American people. Republicans say Mr. Obama is doing little to pump life into the ailing U.S. economy, and have criticized him for ballooning U.S. deficits.

President Obama told the forum that the United States is going to come back from the recession stronger than before, saying now is a “moment of challenge.”

Mr. Obama, who visited Minnesota Monday and travels to Illinois Wednesday, embarked on the tour to explain his economic policy and push back against criticism that he is not doing enough to spur the economy and address high unemployment.

He is on the road after spending much of the summer in Washington caught up in bitterly partisan negotiations on the debt crisis that hurt his approval ratings and also those of members of Congress.

Mr. Obama on Tuesday said he is ramping up efforts to help rural Americans and small businesses.

Iowa has been a political focus in recent days, following a Saturday poll that showed the state's favorites among Republican presidential candidates for next year's election.

The president said Monday he plans to present Congress with a plan to boost the economy when lawmakers return to work next month. Mr. Obama has called for Congress to extend payroll tax cuts, act on trade bills and pass measures to create construction jobs.

The president's bus tour comes as unemployment is more than 9 percent and a new Gallup poll gives him a 39 percent job approval rating.