U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Congress to pass his recently announced $447 billion proposal aimed at creating jobs and averting fears of a second recession in the world’s biggest economy.

The president is speaking Monday morning at the White House, where he is calling on lawmakers to pass the “American Jobs Act.” He is to send the text of the bill to Congress Monday night.

Mr. Obama introduced his plan late last week in an address to both houses of Congress. The plan would cut taxes for workers and businesses, and would fund projects to employ construction workers. The proposal also includes initiatives to put people to work repairing and modernizing roads, railways, airports, waterways and at least 35,000 schools.

The president has said he later will unveil a corresponding deficit reduction plan that will explain how his administration plans to cover the cost of the proposal.

Many critics of the bill say the legislation amounts to another “economic stimulus” package that would further add to the nation’s growing debt.

The president will head to the states of Ohio and North Carolina promoting the bill later in the week.

Recent U.S. government figures have shown job creation at a standstill, as concerns grow about the possibility of a second recession.

The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent. About 14 million workers are unemployed and millions more are working part-time or in jobs they consider below their skill level.