Although Congress is still in recess, legislators across the country are rounding out their month on the campaign trail before the mid-term elections this fall. From town halls to constituent meetings, members on both sides of the aisle are hoping to build momentum heading into the fall, each hoping to be the candidate their constituency sends to Washington in January. Returning from vacation this week, President Obama announced plans to put the full-court press on Congress to pass meaningful legislation this fall. 

During conference calls with his economic team and in an interview with NBC Nightly News's Brian Williams on Sunday, the president continued to position his administration and the rest of the Democratic Party as engaged and active on the economy.  Responding to questions by Williams on the administration's efforts to boost the economy during one of the worst financial crises in the country's history, Obama said, "The economy is still growing, but it's not growing as fast as it needs to. I've got things right now in before Congress that we should move immediately. We should be passing legislation that helps small businesses get credit."

But as the legislation remains stalled by Republican opposition, without enough votes to clear procedural hurdles, the president's frustrations mount. Just today he chastised the GOP, claiming that they continue to obstruct legislation that would make a real difference in the lives of Americans.

Responding to these allegations, Republicans say the budget deficit is the reason they're unwilling to pass measures that might affect the country's bottom line. Claiming the Democrats continue to add costs without providing revenue, Republicans say the measures within the package may need to be divvied up to have a chance at passage.

In the meantime, another of the administration's top priorities would provide additional tax cuts to small businesses and create a government-backed body to increase lending to them. Again, these measures have run into Republican opposition within the Senate. While scheduled for consideration the week of September 13, the bill is gaining little momentum on the minority's side.

The president continues to emphasize that "no single element is a magic bullet" and points to a host of measures, including the small business jobs package and clean energy legislation, that Congress can take action on right now to build momentum for recovery.  The administration also is considering an initiative that would match public and private investments in transportation infrastructure projects.

When Congress returns next week, the debate over which plans are appropriate to steer the nation to recovery will likely continue.