President Barack Obama is prodding Congress to "skip the unnecessary drama" and pass his proposal to extend Bush-era tax cuts to families earning less than $250,000 a year but not for those who earn more.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama denounces what he calls "needless delays" and "partisan posturing."

He has been pushing his proposal hard all week, but congressional Republicans are blocking it.

Obama says that will "hold the vast majority of Americans and our entire economy hostage."

In the Republican address, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio says Obama's proposal would punish many small business owners who report business profits as personal income.

He says that raising taxes on job creators "makes about as much sense as cutting off the water supply during a drought."