ALBANY Instead of a new initiative or a dose of fresh funding, President Barack Obama used his third trip to the Capital Region to offer a "to do list" for Congress that included tax incentives and action to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling.

The Democratic President took the stage Tuesday in a half-finished clean room at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to offer his election-year vision of the future.

"Now I want what's happening in Albany to happen all across the country places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh," Obama said. "I want to create more opportunities for hardworking Americans to start making things again, and selling them all over the world stamped with those proud words: Made in America. That's the goal."

The NanoCollege started as a bold idea several decades ago that today is helping to transform the region into a 21st century technology powerhouse.

While Obama didn't spend much of his 22-minute speech detailing the work in the facility, the President book-ended his remarks with praise about how the NanoCollege and New York state have helped create a high-tech manufacturing sector in upstate, with billions of dollars of both government and private sector investment. The site is undergoing a $4.8 billion expansion.

NanoCollege officials are hoping the visit could help convince the Obama administration to establish a Department of Defense presence at the school, a move that would open the door to billions of dollars in additional investment.

The President made no public mention of expanding the facility, but Alain Kaloyeros, the CEO of the NanoCollege, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo pitched Obama on the idea of DOD funding as he led the President on a tour of the school's facilities.

"The visit sets the stage for future partnerships with the federal government," Kaloyeros said. "The federal government is the only anchor tenant that is missing here. But it's not that we need them. They need us. There is so much that the Department of Defense could benefit from by being here."

But there were no new proposals on the President's "to do" list. Obama asked Congress to make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages; create or extend tax credits for businesses that expand from overseas operations, hire new workers or use renewable energy; and create a job corps.

Republicans attacked the speech for its partisan tones, and criticized Obama for policies that would not apply more broadly.

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Obama, Cuomo touring Nano college