WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to pass a bill that he says will save hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment.

Speaking in the Rose Garden alongside two teachers facing potential job loss, Obama said the bill should not be a partisan issue. He says failing to pass the bill would set the country back at a time when it needs to be moving forward.

The House is expected to pass the bill in a special session Tuesday. Democrats say the measure would save more than 300,000 jobs for teachers, police officers and other public health workers.

But Republicans see it as reckless government spending and a gift to teachers' unions ahead of the November elections.