Obama needles Congress on day two of Midwest bus tour

President Obama, in Iowa Tuesday on Day Two of his Midwest bus tour, continued to needle Congress for the partisan bickering he said is preventing progress in Washington, D.C.

Obama used the Rural Economic Forum in Peosta, Iowa, an event hosted by the White House, to announce new job-growing initiatives his administration plans to implement “administratively” rather than “wasting time” waiting for congressional approval.

{mosads}”We want to put [those proposals] to work right now,” Obama said. “All the things we’re doing today didn’t require new laws. … We could do even more if Congress is willing to get in the game.”

The administration announced details regarding its $350 million investment intended to promote training, education and job growth in rural communities, and a $510 million investment over the next three years in advanced biofuel development, which the White House is promoting as an opportunity to create construction and refinery jobs in rural America.

“I want to enlist your help … sending a message to Congress,” Obama told the crowd, reiterating that members of Congress need to put “country before party” and “the next generation before the next election.” Obama’s criticism of Congress has defined his bus tour, generating what sound like slogans ready-made for a campaign despite the fact the White House maintains the tour is not campaign-related.

Obama took a harsh stance in his comments about Congress, but kept an optimistic tone when he talked about the “potential” he has seen in the states he has traveled through this week.

“There’s nothing wrong with this country,” he said. “We’ll get through this moment of challenge.”

People in Iowa “take such pride in doing the right thing,” Obama said. “It’s time Washington acted as responsible as you do every single day. It’s past time.”

The key, he said, is getting “our politics to match up with the decency of our people.”

Administration officials led multiple break-out sessions taking place at the Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday afternoon, with Obama participating in two sessions with community leaders.