Obama Urges Swift Action on Economic Package

President Obama told an Indiana crowd Monday that "we can't afford to wait" to jump-start the economy, as he made the first of two campaign-style stops meant to draw attention to towns hard-hit by unemployment and rally support for his economic stimulus plan.

The president spoke at a town hall-style meeting in Elkhart, Ind., where the unemployment rate soared to 15.3 percent in December, up 10.6 percentage points from December 2007.

He said he intends to keep his "promise" to lighten the burden of the economic downturn on working-class families, and called on Washington to pass the recovery package "immediately."

"The situation we face could not be more serious," Obama said, warning that the economy could slide on an irreversible course if nothing is done. "We can't posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place."

He spoke as the Senate was preparing to clear the final procedural hurdles toward approving an $827 billion version of the recovery package that has attracted the support of Maine Sen. Susan Collins and two other Republicans in what supporters believe is enough strength to get it past a key procedural vote later Monday.

The Senate bill is finely tuned. With only two or three Republicans on board, it is guaranteed, at most, 61 votes; the bill needs 60 votes in the 100-member body to advance and avoid procedural hurdles. Any change in the balance struck by the Senate bill could doom it.

Sen. John McCain, a vocal critic of the bill, complained that Republicans won't be involved in the final negotiations. "That's the way the Bush administration, when we Republicans were in charge -- that's the way we did business," he said. "But I thought we were going to have change."

With Republicans continuing to raise serious questions about the massive package that combines a mix of tax cuts, spending and incentives, Obama was trying to ensure public support this week by discrediting what his administration sees as misconceptions about the package.

He said 90 percent of the jobs created as a result of the bill would be in the private sector, disputing claims that the funding would go toward government job creation. He said the package is free of earmarks, despite ongoing criticism about wasteful spending.

"It is the right size, it is the right scope," Obama said. "I also can't tell you with 100 percent certainty that every single item in this plan will work exactly as we hope. But what I can tell you is I can say with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will only bring deepening disaster.

"I can tell you that doing nothing is not an option," he said.

The Elkhart region has been hammered by layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry. On Tuesday, Obama plans to visit Fort Myers, Fla., an area hit hard by home foreclosures.

On Monday night, the president will also hold his first prime-time news conference.

The public appearances come as Obama plunges into a difficult challenge early in his leadership, struggling to get a divided Congress to agree on his economic recovery package while pitching a new plan to ease loans to U.S. consumers and businesses.

The Senate's $827 billion stimulus legislation seems assured narrow passage by Tuesday. Harder work for Obama and the Democrats comes in the days ahead, when the House and Senate attempt to reconcile differences in their two versions.

Obama and Democratic Party leaders had hoped to have a bill ready for the president's signature by Feb. 16 -- a deadline that grows more challenging by the day.

The House and Senate bills are about $7 billion apart in cost and overlap in numerous ways. But the Senate bill has a greater emphasis on tax cuts, while the House bill devotes more money to states, local governments and schools.

Two senators who played a leading role in shaping the Senate bill said Monday it's the best that could be achieved under difficult circumstances and must be passed.

The pair -- Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Ben Nelson -- said they hope that differences between their version and the $827 billion House bill can be worked out in conference.

Rep. Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, warned that reductions in state spending in the Senate bill would hurt local communities.

"To get any Republicans at all, you had to adopt a cut that's going to mean policemen and firemen are going to be laid off," he said.

Sen. John Ensign, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, dismissed Frank's complaint as "fear-mongering."

At the Treasury Department, Secretary Timothy Geithner delayed the unveiling of a new bailout framework for financial institutions from Monday to Tuesday to let the administration focus on the stimulus legislation.

Geithner is considering steps to broaden the use of a new lending facility at the Federal Reserve, provide government guarantees to help banks deal with their troubled assets, and continue direct infusion of capital into banks in exchange for securities and tougher accountability rules.

The bank bailout proposal that Geithner will announce Tuesday also carries policy and political risks. Congress approved a $700 billion bailout for the financial sector last fall. But since then, lawmakers from both parties have been critical of how the Bush administration spent the first half of the money.

The Senate grudgingly agreed to give Obama access to the second half of the fund, but only after Obama promised to impose tougher conditions and to devote at least $50 billion of the fund to reducing mortgage foreclosures.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.