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Republicans in Congress came out swinging today against President Obama's new new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, calling for completely different measures to revive the economy.

"Clearly, the president is trying, yet again, to get Americans back to work... he essentially announced a 'stimulus II' program," House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) said at a press conference today, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer Jill Jackson reports. However, he added, "I absolutely disagree that we can spend the way out of recession."

Cantor was joined by freshman Republican members of the House today to criticize Mr. Obama's plan. They said it would be more effective to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, permanently eliminate the death tax, pass free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, and to reduce the deficit.

The president's proposals today included new spending for infrastructure projects like highways, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements.

"Instead of passing another big spending bill, we should keep government out of business, keep taxes low and expand trade," said Rep. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas). "It's time to empower entrepreneurs and small businesses instead of the federal government."

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Democrats in the House reacted positively to President Obama's job speech today at the Brookings Institution.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that House Democrats will work with the president to put "Americans to work building a 21st century infrastructure and making our homes more energy efficient, ensuring that small business owners gain easier access to capital and credit, and helping to keep teachers, police, and firefighters on the job in our communities."

At Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's weekly meeting with reporters this morning, he said that it is more important to do a jobs bill right than fast, but that it needs to be done soon. Hoyer said doing it in the next 10 days is not essential, but said 30 to 40 days from now is more realistic.

Exact details of the package, and the price tag, are still under negotiation, though it is expected to include money for infrastructure, tax cuts and credits for small businesses and credits for homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient. Hoyer said figures ranging from $75 billion to $150 billion have been discussed.

What will come to the floor, however, before the House leaves for the holidays is an extension of unemployment insurance and subsidies to help the unemployed purchase COBRA health insurance.

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Updated 1:26 p.m. ET

Below is the transcript of President Obama's speech on the economy and job creation ideas, as delivered at the Brookings Institution in Washington and released by the White House:

Thank you so much, Strobe, for your extraordinary leadership here at Brookings, and thanks to all of you in attendance.

Almost exactly one year ago, on a frigid winter's day, I met with my new economic team at the headquarters of my presidential transition offices in Chicago. And over the course of four hours, my advisors presented an analysis of where the economy at that time stood, accompanied by a chilling set of charts and graphs, predicting where we might end up. It was an unforgettable series of presentations.

Christy Romer -- who's here today -- tapped to head the Council of Economic Advisers, as well as Larry Summers, who I'd chosen to head the National Economic Council, described an imminent downturn comparable in its severity to almost nothing since the 1930s. Tim Geithner, my incoming Treasury Secretary, reported that the financial system, shaken by the subprime crisis, had halted almost all lending, which in turn threatened to pull the broader economy in a downward spiral. Peter Orszag, my incoming Budget Director, closed out the proceedings with an entirely dismal report on the fiscal health of the country, with growing deficits and debt stretching to the horizon. Having concluded that it was too late for me to request a recount -- (laughter) -- I tasked my team with mapping out a plan to tackle the crisis on all fronts.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Use of leftover bailout funds may be limited by budget rules...

** A set of compromises to replace the public option?...

** Gates says we're in it to "win" it in Afghanistan...

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY: President Obama is set to deliver a speech on the economy today at 11:15am ET at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where, according to a White House official, he "will announce three key priorities for targeted investment—including a series of steps to help small businesses grow and hire new staff, an additional investment in infrastructure to continue modernizing our highways and railways, bridges and tunnels, airports and seaports and a new program to provide rebates for consumers who retrofit their homes to become more energy efficient.

"We don’t think there is on silver bullet, one plan, one speech or a singular piece of legislation that alone will solve double digit unemployment," the official adds. "And the President’s speech does not represent the totality of our plans for continued economic recovery."

"Obama plans to talk about what he wants to see in the coming weeks and months — chiefly, more Americans in the workplace and fewer on unemployment, which now stands at 10 percent," adds the Associated Press' Philip Elliott. "The White House worked around the clock in recent days to pull together the president's speech."

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Another public option compromise surfaces...

** Making a profit on TARP...

** World leaders look at the economic side of combating climate change...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The New York Times' John Harwood ponders, "As Obama's Poll Numbers Fall, Criticism of Multitasking Rises": "President Obama began his week lobbying Democratic senators to unite on an overhaul of the health care system.

"On Tuesday, he will lay out his agenda for creating jobs for the 15 million Americans out of work. Then he travels to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, even as he seeks support for sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

"And next week he heads to Copenhagen in search of a worldwide deal to curb climate change by reducing carbon emissions, with sweeping implications for the American economy.

"Ever since Mr. Obama took office, critics of his leadership style have accused him of tackling too many initiatives at once. That blurs the focus of the White House and Congress, they say, and prevents the president from communicating a clear theme about his agenda to ordinary Americans.

"Now, as Mr. Obama’s approval rating in polls has dwindled to 50 percent or below, that criticism has grown louder."

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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Obama will likely back using some portion of the $700 billion in TARP bailout funds during a speech on the economy next Tuesday.

That idea isn't sitting well with House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), who released a statement this afternoon arguing that such a move would be against the law.

"The President and Speaker Pelosi need to recognize that TARP money was borrowed from the taxpayer to deal with a dire emergency, and now it must be returned," he said. "In fact, current law states that returned TARP funds are to be used to reduce the debt – not more spending preferred by the President. This country is in debt, and the only responsible action is to pay it down, not preserve and expand it."

"TARP funds borrowed from the taxpayer should not become a slush fund for the political whims of Washington," he added.

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SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. – It's enough to make President Obama long for questions from the White House press corps. Well, almost.

At the end of a speech about the economy and today's drop in the national unemployment rate, the president invited members of his audience at Lehigh Carbon Community College to tell him what's on their mind.

Have you considered legalizing prostitution, gambling and drugs as a way of stimulating the economy, asked a college sophomore?

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," said the president as laughter filled the hall. But he made it clear the suggestion "will not be my jobs strategy."

He commended the college kid for questioning conventional wisdom. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing - which is thinking in new ways about things."

There are studies that show legalizing certain vices – and taxing them – would provide economic stimulus and reduce, if not eliminate, government deficits. But don't expect many politicians to get behind the idea.

Another questioner had a request, not a suggestion.

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SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - President Obama traveled to the economically hard hit Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania to say, "I know times are tough."

To illustrate his message of commiseration, he suggested that joblessness hits close to home. He told a community college audience in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, "Michelle and I were talking the other day. There are members of our families that are out of work."

Mr. Obama added, "We're not that far removed from struggling to pay bills."

A White House official declined to identify any unemployed relatives of the Obamas except to say, "I don't think they are close close" family members.

Mr. Obama's stop in came as part of his economic tour across the country to discuss job creation.

Obama Takes Jobs Message to Allentown
Obama Deflects Question on Legalizing Pot, Prostitution
Photo: President Obama in Allentown

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Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.

When President Obama told attendees at his economic town hall today that he only had time to take three questions, he probably did not expect the first question to be about legalizing drugs and prostitution.

He ultimately responded to four questions from the crowd at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Penn. but took his time to steer the initial inquiry from a discussion about drugs to the future of the U.S. economy, emphasizing that manufacturing will play a less significant role in the nation. The town hall was part of Mr. Obama's tour of cities around the country in which he will discuss the economy.

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Mr. Obama said to laughter after a young man asked him if he would consider legalizing drugs, prostitution, gambling or nonviolent crimes. "That will not be my job strategy."

"First of all, part of what you're supposed to do in college is question conventional wisdom," the president continued. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

The rest of the nation, Mr. Obama went on to say, will have to rethink the shape of the nation's economy.

"Manufacturing will never be as high of a percentage [of the economy] as it was in the 1950s," he said, but the capacity for states to cash in on new sectors is "enormous."

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The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 10 percent according jobs numbers released this morning, though the economy still shed 11,000 jobs last month.

The figured were taken as a sign of hope for the economy and heralded by Christina Romer, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

"Today's employment report was the most hopeful sign yet that the stabilization of financial markets and the recovery in economic growth may be leading to improvements in the labor market," she said in a statement.

Roemer said that the loss of 11,000 jobs represented a "dramatic improvement from the decline of 597,000 in November 2008 and 741,000 in January 2009."

"It is by far the closest we have been to stable employment since the recession began almost two years ago," added Roemer.

As could be expected, Republicans had a different spin on the new numbers.

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