President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to pass his $30 billion package to boost small business lending by pumping capital into independent banks. The plan, proposed in February, is an effort by the administration to spur job growth.

The banks that receive the money would pay the government a dividend, which would decline as their lending to small businesses increased, said Reuters.The president has also pushed for a number of small business tax credits as part of his economic agenda.

In his remarks to Congress, Obama said passing the measures “shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”

The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee approved its version of a bill to boost small business lending by a 42-23 vote last week, with no Republican support, said Reuters. The bill will be brought before the full House for a vote soon, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The country’s unemployment rate is stalled just under 10 percent, and the president and other Democrats need to counter criticism from Republicans that they haven’t done enough to fix the economy before mid-term elections in the fall.