The president's economic team has met frequently in recent days to list ways to bolster the struggling recovery, according to government officials.
On the list of possible actions: additional tax cuts for small businesses beyond those included in a $30 billion small-business lending bill before the Senate. It's not clear what those tax breaks would target or how much they might cost in lost revenue to the government.
Also in the mix: a possible payroll tax cut for businesses and individuals, as well as other business tax breaks, according to people familiar with the discussions. Currently, income taxes are scheduled to rise with the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts at the end of this year.
Efforts to boost growth have taken on urgency as the economy has shown signs of flagging and is among voters' chief concerns ahead of November's midterm elections.
The White House is struggling with whether to propose ideas that would appeal to Republicans, and thus get support on Capitol Hill—such as tax cuts—or whether to promote ideas that officials believe could have more economic impact but might hit political resistance, such as more aid for states and more infrastructure funding.
Aides to the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate see little prospect of anything significant happening soon. With the party's majority in Congress under threat in November's elections, Democratic lawmakers are primarily busy campaigning.
One of the few exceptions: Democrats have lined up enough support to pass the small-business bill the Senate has been considering, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.).
In a Rose Garden address Monday, President Barack Obama said he was aiming to identify "additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term."
Among the ideas he cited were extending tax cuts for the middle class and renewing a mix of tax credits for businesses, such as the research tax credit.
The administration hasn't settled on whether to take bigger—and more expensive—steps, such as a payroll tax cut or additional tax cuts for small businesses. Complicating the talks are concerns about the cumulative federal deficit, which could rise by $11 trillion over the next decade.
"Everyone is mindful of the deficit problem, and everyone is mindful of the slack economy. The question is how you thread the needle, and so I think the programs will be narrow and focused," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.).
Some Republicans say an array of tax cuts is the best strategy to stimulate the economy. They include on their list reductions in the individual payroll tax used to fund entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, as well as cuts in corporate income taxes.
All the talk about taxes—whether to raise them to address the deficit or cut them to stimulate the economy—may be having its own effect on growth. Allan Meltzer, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said the economy wouldn't fully revive until Washington resolved uncertainty surrounding business costs, including taxes.
"Companies are cutting their expenditures and not hiring because they're very uncertain" about these costs, he said.
Mr. Manley said Democrats wanted to hold a vote this fall to extend the tax cuts passed during the Bush administration for families earning less than $250,000 a year.
But a fight is looming, and that might mean more delays. Senate Republicans are likely to resist any legislation that doesn't also extend the Bush tax cuts for families and small businesses with earnings over $250,000.
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