U.S. President Barack Obama's Wednesday urged the Congress to quickly approve his massive stimulus package as Senate Democrats were likely to make compromise to gain GOP support.
"No plan is perfect, and we should work to make it stronger," said Obama, referring to the over 800 billion dollar stimulus plan which was aimed to save the U.S. sagging economy.
He warned the failure will turn the current crisis into a " catastrophe."
"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession, a less robust recovery, and a more uncertain future," said the new president.
"That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan," said Obama. "With it, we can save or create more than three million jobs, doing things that will strengthen our country for years to come."
The Senate, which began debate on the stimulus plan on Monday, continued the battle on Wednesday as Republicans sought to prevent the massive stimulus bill from becoming a Democratic spending bill.
Senate Democratic leaders have conceded that they do not have the enough votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions to gain GOP support.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said late on Tuesday that " with a little bit of luck," the Senate could finish its version this week.
"We hope that as the debate continues, people will only offer those amendments they think will really help the bill," said Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
"A number of Democrats have said they want to see changes to the bill before they vote for it," also said Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin.
Congressional budget analysts estimated that the Senate version would cost 884.5 billion dollars over 10 years, a significant increase from the House 819 billion dollar version.
Democrats, who have 58 of the 100 seats in the Senate, will need at least two Republican votes in the Senate to avoid procedural roadblocks which could stymie the measure.
Republican Senator John McCain has proposed a 445-billion- dollar plan, which includes 275 billion dollars in tax cuts for business owners and individuals.
The most ambitious effort to cut the bill is being led by Senator Democratic Ben Nelson and Republican Susan Collins, who urged to make a 200 billion dollar reduction.
Among the items at the Collins-Nelson proposal is targeting: 1. 1 billion dollars for comparative medical research, 350 million dollars for Agriculture Department computers, 75 million dollars to discouraging smoking and 650 million dollars for wildlife management, according to the U.S. media.
There is also growing support for a proposal sponsored by Republican Senator Johnny Isakson that would provide a 15,000 tax credit to all homebuyers in 2009.
"There's plenty of room to cut in this bill. It's time we started doing some of it," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who stressed earlier this week that the Republicans did not want to block the bill but modifications were needed.
To gain GOP support, Obama Wednesday invited some centrist senators to the White House to discuss the stimulus package.
Lawrence Summers, head of the National Economic Council said on Wednesday he was confident that Congress would approve the stimulus package before the mid-February deadline.
"I expect a bill to be signed into law on the President's timetable," said the Obama's top economic advisor. "I believe this bill is imperative for our economic security, and I've got great confidence that in our country we do the right thing."