We got some encouraging news this morning: The private sector added 233,000 jobs in February, bringing us to two straight years of job growth and more than 3.9 million new private-sector jobs.

Of course, there is still much work to be done as we continue the hard work of rebuilding our economy. But the truth is, we've made a lot of good progress, and it's thanks to the tough decisions and economic policies of President Obama and the resilience of the American people.

Republicans aren't too pleased about the news and what it means for them politically, so they're trying desperately to spin what should be good news for all Americans, regardless of political party. The chair of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, even went so far as to say that "the situation is clearly not improving."

That's right: Even though it was their policies that drove our economy into a ditch, and even though the GOP has opposed recovery measures at every step of the way, Republicans don't think that two solid years of job growth is improvement.

We made an infographic to show just how wrong Republicans like the RNC chair are—pass it along to the Reince Priebuses in your life.

President Obama announced this afternoon that in the face of inaction and obstruction from congressional Republicans, he is prepared to do whatever he can as President to help put Americans back to work.

He said:

"The only way we can truly attack our economic challenges—the only way we can put hundreds of thousands of people back to work right now—is with bold action in Congress. That’s why I’m going to keep forcing these senators to vote on commonsense, paid-for jobs proposals. But last month, when I addressed a joint session of Congress about our jobs crisis, I also said that I intend to do everything in my power to act on behalf of the American people—with or without Congress.

"So I’m here to say that we can’t wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job. Where they won’t act, I will."

In the past few weeks, President Obama has issued several of these executive actions: making a significant change to No Child Left Behind, reducing the time it takes for a small business to get paid when they have a federal contract, and eliminating outdated hospital regulations. In the weeks to come, the administration will announce more key actions they can take without waiting for Congress.

In Las Vegas, the city hit hardest by the housing crisis, the President announced that the Federal Housing Finance Agency will begin to take a series of steps to help responsible homeowners whose home values have decreased through no fault of their own. The agency will help them refinance and take advantage of low mortgage rates—a move that will help consumers save money and regain their ability to spend.

It's an important development, but it's not a substitute for the measures in the American Jobs Act—which the President remains committed to fighting for:

"We will still need Congress to pass the jobs bill—and even then, the housing market won’t be fully healed until the unemployment rate comes down and the inventory of homes on the market comes down.

"But that is no excuse for inaction. That is no excuse for crossing your arms and saying no to Americans who need help now. There is no excuse for the games and gridlock we’ve seen in Washington. Folks out here don’t have the time or the patience for it. If any member of Congress thinks there are no unemployed workers or neighborhoods in their district that would benefit from the proposals in the jobs bill, or that folks don’t know what’s really going on, they better think again. They still have the chance to take meaningful action to put people back to work and to help middle-class families and homeowners like the Bonillas. But we can’t wait for that action. I won’t. So I’m going to keep taking this message across the country. And I hope folks will join me."

Show your support for the President's jobs bill at AmericanJobsAct.com.

Despite no real jobs plan of their own—and ideas that would have "little immediate effect"—Republicans in Congress have been doing everything in their power to prevent passage of the President's American Jobs Act, a plan that would create more than 1 million jobs.

From today's New York Times:

"While economic forecasts are not definitive, in that they are predictions, Macroeconomic Advisers, a St. Louis-based firm that the Federal Reserve often uses, has projected that the Obama jobs plan could increase economic growth by 1.25 percentage points and add 1.3 million jobs in 2012. Moody’s Analytics, another firm, has estimated it would add two percentage points and up to 1.9 million jobs.

"Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, said Republicans had 'reasonable ideas' but not ones that could be measured by the firm’s forecasting model. He said he believed the proposals 'would have little immediate effect relative to a plan that stimulates aggregate demand'—that is, a plan like Mr. Obama’s, with tax cuts and spending programs.

"Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, similarly said the Republican proposals 'are generally good longer-term economic policy, but they won’t mean much for the economy and job market in the next year.' He continued: 'Given the high odds of another recession in the next few months, it is vital for Congress and the administration to provide some near-term support to the economy.'"

Read the full article at the New York Times.

Joined by teachers, veterans, law-enforcement officials, construction workers, and small-business owners this morning, President Obama introduced a draft of the American Jobs Act and urged Congress to pass it as soon as possible:

"On Thursday, I told Congress that I’ll be sending them a bill called the American Jobs Act. Well, here it is. This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country. This is the 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. No games. No politics. No delays. I’m sending this bill to Congress today, and they ought to pass it immediately."

Putting people back to work should not be a partisan issue. Addressing a report of a senior Republican aide saying there was no reason to cooperate with the President and Democrats on a jobs bill, President Obama reminded Congress that out-of-work Americans can't afford political games:

"[Playing politics is] not okay at a time of great urgency and need all across the country. These aren’t games we’re playing out here. Folks are out of work. Businesses are having trouble staying open. You’ve got a world economy that is full of uncertainty right now—in Europe, in the Middle East. Some events may be beyond our control, but this is something we can control. Whether or not we pass this bill, whether or not we get this done, that’s something that we can control. That’s in our hands."

You can help get the American Jobs Act signed into law. By adding your name here, you can take the first step in sending a message to Congress: The American Jobs Act will put this country back to work—pass this bill.