By Dan Friedman and Billy House
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 | 9:50 p.m.
Stalemated and increasingly unpopular, Congress returns from recess this week with Democrats looking to a congressional address by President Obama for a formula to improve the economy or at least their electoral position. For their part, House Republicans are touting their own plans to vote against what they call costly government regulations. Although both sides want to focus on job creation, the parties are poised to mostly block each other’s proposals, creating the possibility of a legislative deadlock.

Congress’s abysmal approval ratings—just 12 percent in a recent Associated Press/GfK poll—could prove to be a wild card. Both members and observers of Congress have said they hope that worries about voter anger may combine with a stalled economy—August saw no net gain in jobs—to end a stalemate between the Democratic Senate and Republican House that has made it impossible to pass significant economic legislation. But the poll numbers and economic woes might well have the opposite effect, with lawmakers in each party doubling down on their existing preferences.

With Congress stuck, the president’s speech on Thursday looms large. Obama is expected to urge extension of a payroll tax cut for employees and unemployment benefit and the enactment of a tax credit for firms that add workers.

Obama appears set to throw his weight behind a Democratic effort to force the GOP to either accept some of those relatively popular plans or shoulder blame for blocking them. Obama is also signaling that he will move without Congress as much as possible. Last week, he ordered seven federal agencies to each select up to three high-priority infrastructure projects that can be completed within the control and jurisdiction of the federal government.

Over the August recess, Senate Democrats worked on a package of jobs proposals, but most either cannot pass or are relatively minor measures. Obama’s speech, however, will help shape Democrats’ legislative plans this fall, said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate leadership. Among other issues facing Congress: