President Barack Obama stepped up the push for his $447 billion job creation plan Monday, calling it a “common-sense” blueprint for economic recovery at risk of being blocked by short-term political calculations.

“This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country,” Obama told a crowd of teachers, veterans, small-business owners and others at the White House. “This is a bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis. This is a bill that is based on ideas from both Democrats and Republicans, and this is the bill that Congress needs to pass.”

“There are some in Washington who would rather settle our differences through politics and the elections than try to resolve them now,” he added. But the “fact of the matter is the next election is 14 months away. The American people don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months for Congress to take action.”

Obama made his pitch in the Rose Garden hours before sending the legislation to Capitol Hill, where it has received a polite but mixed reception from opposition GOP leaders.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, released a statement immediately after Obama’s remarks, promising prompt consideration of the proposal. At the same time, however, Boehner took a swipe at the 2009 economic stimulus plan backed by the administration.

“The record of the economic proposals enacted during the last Congress necessitates careful examination of the president’s latest plan as well as consideration of alternative measures that may more effectively support private-sector job creation,” Boehner said. “It is my hope that we will be able to work together to put in place the best ideas of both parties and help put Americans back to work.”

It is unclear whether the American Jobs Act — consisting largely of targeted tax cuts, infrastructure spending and new job training assistance — can win over enough skeptical congressional Republicans, particularly in light of Obama’s falling approval ratings and the looming presidential campaign.

To help make his case, the president has been touting the virtue of his plan on the road, stopping in Virginia last Friday and heading to Ohio and North Carolina later this week.

Among other things, Obama’s plan would extend and expand the current payroll tax cut — a proposal estimated to cost $240 billion.

The current cut, which has cost $112 billion so far, allows employees to pay 4.2 percent instead of 6.2 percent on their first $106,800 of wages into Social Security. Obama wants to continue the break — now set to expire at the end of the year — while reducing employee contributions further, to 3.1 percent.

At the same time, the president wants to cut the payroll tax that businesses pay in half — to 3.1 percent — on the first $5 million in wages.

Obama’s proposal also includes a new $49 billion extension of unemployment benefits, which were lengthened to the current 99-week maximum in 2009. Top Democrats argue that that money would immediately be pumped back into the economy in the form of new consumer spending.

Nearly 43 percent of America’s unemployed have now been out of work for more than six months.

In addition, the plan proposes $60 billion for infrastructure development such as repairing roads and bridges, including the establishment of an infrastructure bank to help finance such projects.

Other provisions in the president’s proposal include $25 billion to refurbish schools, $35 billion to avoid layoffs among teachers and first responders, and tax incentives for small businesses to hire the long-term unemployed.

Under the Obama plan, businesses could receive a tax credit of up to $4,000 for hiring workers who have been out of a job for more than six months.

CNN’s Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.