Tune in on Monday from 3 to 4 p.m. at whitehouse.gov/live or youtube.com/whitehouse as President Obama hosts a High Level Event on Supporting Civil Society in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.

Civil society representatives play a critical role -- voicing the views of citizens, holding governments accountable, and forging solutions that improve people’s lives.

In his weekly address, President Obama says the economy is making progress five years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, but to avoid another crisis, Congress must meet two deadlines in the coming weeks: pass a budget by the end of the month to keep the government open, and raise the debt ceiling so America can pay its bills. Congress should vote to do these now, so that we can keep creating new jobs and expanding opportunity for the middle class.

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Today, Friday, September 20, 2013 marks the commemoration of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, where the nation honors those service members who endured captivity and whose remains have yet to be recovered. The day serves as a stark reminder of the risks and sacrifices that American service members and their families make every day.

I was joined yesterday by members of the Small Business Majority Network Council at the White House to discuss the President’s plans to grow the economy, support small businesses, and back the entrepreneurial spirit that makes America great.

Without question, it has been the resilience and creativity of American small business owners which has sparked and sustained our recovery from the worst economic crisis since the great depression.They have helped us achieve 40 straight months of job growth, and created the majority of the 7.2 million American jobs generated in that timeframe.