U.S. President Barack Obama is on the road pushing his new economic agenda, saying the key to change is Congress passing a reformed tax code.

President Obama promoted the economic plan he unveiled during the State of the Union during a speech Wednesday at a conveyor belt factory in Iowa. He says his blueprint will work for everyone, not just the wealthy.

Mr. Obama stood by his call for higher taxes on the country's wealthiest taxpayers, emphasizing it's importance in boosting the American economy. He urged Congress to pass tax reform measures for businesses and more immediately a payroll tax cut for individuals.

“Tell congress to pass this tax cut without drama, without delay. No soap operas, just get it done.”

Mr. Obama brushed off Republican claims that his new tax code is “class warfare.”

“America is not about handouts, it's about earning everything you have got.”

The president is on a three-day, five-state tour both to sell his economic plan and to shore up support in politically crucial states for his contentious re-election bid later this year. The president will also stop in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Michigan.

In the State of the Union address on Tuesday, the president told a joint session of the U.S. Congress and millions of television viewers that his plans are for “an economy that's built to last” on manufacturing, energy, on new skills for American workers, and what he described as “a renewal of American values.”

The Democratic president warned Republican lawmakers during his speech that he will fight any effort to return to an economy that he says was “weakened by outsourcing, bad debt and phony financial profits.”