US President Barack Obama has urged lawmakers to back his ambitious proposals aimed at creating more jobs and cutting taxes.

In a rare address to a joint session of Congress, he said he wanted to get the unemployed back to work, put money in employees' pockets and rebuild infrastructure.

He urged lawmakers to pass the plan, worth almost US$450 billion, promptly. Some Republican opponents have said the bill is Mr Obama's re-election plan.

US unemployment, currently jammed at 9.1 percent, is expected to dominate the 2012 presidential election campaign.

"The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed.

But Mr Obama's speech did not go down well with many of his political opponents. House Representative Paul Broun of Georgia, one of the Republicans who chose not to attend the speech, tweeted: "This is obviously political grandstanding and class warfare." Other critics say that the presidential speech lacked details.

Mr Obama is now preparing for hard-fought negotiations on the proposed bill. Correspondents say that if Republicans reject the plan, the White House will seek to portray them as economic obstructionists.