U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Congressional opponents to “put country ahead of party” and pass his $447 billion jobs bill.

The president slammed Republican lawmakers during a visit to a union-sponsored training center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tuesday. Mr. Obama said many Republicans would have a hard time explaining why they oppose the measure other than the fact that he proposed it.

Mr. Obama has been touring the country, repeatedly calling for Congress to pass his jobs bill, which is scheduled to come up for an initial vote in the Senate later Tuesday.

The president says the American Jobs Act would put thousands of teachers, police and construction workers back on the job while cutting taxes for workers and small businesses. Some critics insist the president's plan to pay for the legislation with increased taxes on wealthier Americans would hurt investment and economic growth.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Obama met with his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a group of business and labor leaders charged with finding ways to create jobs and grow the U.S. economy.

He told the council he will work to enact provisions of the jobs bill one-by-one if lawmakers refuse to pass it as a whole. But he also said he is done waiting for lawmakers to act, and that his staff is already working on ways to boost the economy and create jobs without the need for legislation.

As an example, Mr. Obama said his administration is working to expedite the permitting process for what he described as 14 “high impact” infrastructure projects across the country.

The council issued a report Tuesday calling for greater spending on the nation's infrastructure as well as less restrictive regulations, and tax and immigration reform. It said many of its proposals are needed to make the U.S. more attractive to foreign investors.

The U.S. economy has been growing very slowly, with the unemployment rate stuck around 9 percent or higher for more than two years. About 14 million workers are unemployed, with millions more working only part-time or in jobs they consider beneath their skill level.