President Obama has kicked off a three-day Midwest bus tour aimed at promoting his record on the economy amidst high unemployment and fears of a worsening recession. At a town-hall-style event in Iowa, Obama said he would present a new plan to boost the economy next month.

President Obama: “I’ll be putting forward, when they come back in September, a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs, and to control our deficit. And my attitude is: get it done. And if they don’t get it done, then we’ll be running against a Congress that’s not doing anything for the American people, and the choice will be very stark and will be very clear.”

Speaking earlier in the day in Minnesota, Obama criticized Republicans’ steadfast opposition to tax hikes on the wealthy. Obama cited an opinion piece from billionaire investor Warren Buffett in support of the tax hikes.

President Obama: “I put a deal before the Speaker of the House John Boehner that would have solved this problem. And he walked away because his belief was we can’t ask anything of millionaires and billionaires and big corporations in order to close our deficit. Now, Warren Buffett had an op-ed that he wrote today, where he said, ’We’ve got to stop coddling billionaires like me.’”

President Obama’s bus tour comes as his approval rating has fallen below 40 percent for the first time. According to a new Gallup poll, 39 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s job performance, while 54 percent disapprove. Both figures represent the poorest marks Obama has received since taking office.