Obama seeks swift passage of U.S. fiscal package

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama pressed congressional leaders on Monday to pass his huge spending and tax-cut package amid signs the centrepiece of his economic stimulus plan may face delays.

"We are in a very difficult spot," Obama told reporters after a meeting his economic advisers. "The situation is bad. The situation is getting worse."

Obama said he wants to sign a bill approving his economic stimulus package -- now put at about $775 billion (527.6 billion pounds) over two years -- shortly after taking office on January 20.

He took the time to personally push the proposal on Monday, meeting with top leaders on Capitol Hill in an effort to forge bipartisan support for the deal that some Republicans are now questioning.

"It is clear that we have to act and we have to act now to address this crisis and break the momentum of the recession, or the next few years could be dramatically worse," he said.

Earlier Obama met Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and said new economic jobs data expected this week would likely be "sobering" and further underscore the need for action.

The current U.S. recession began in December 2007 and, according to a Reuters poll, economists are expecting Labour Department data on Friday to show payroll jobs dropping by 500,000, bringing job losses for 2008 to about 2.5 million.

Obama moved to fill another key job in his administration. He picked Leon Panetta, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, to head the CIA, according to Democratic officials.

And Obama's fundraising prowess was highlighted again in a new donor report that showed the president-elect -- who brought in a record-shattering $639 million during his presidential campaign -- was on track to raise a targeted $12 million to cover transition costs.

BIG PLANS

But the dollar figures in focus on Monday as Obama made his first visit to the Capitol since the November 4 election were much higher.

The new Congress, which convenes on Tuesday, is expected to wrestle with Obama's recession-fighting stimulus package as its first major order of business.

Obama's fellow Democrats had hoped to have such a package ready for the new president to sign as soon as he takes office. But they now say it will take at least a month or so longer to put together the bipartisan support needed to clear a possible Senate Republican roadblock.

Republicans -- who have objected to government moves to bail out the financial industry and U.S. automakers -- are raising concerns the Obama stimulus plan may presage a new era of uncontrolled government spending.

But they are certain to face public pressure, following the widespread repudiation of Republicans in the November elections, to find common ground with Obama and clear the way for passage of a stimulus package.

Obama was to meet later on Monday with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and then hold talks with key lawmakers of both parties, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader John Boehner.

An Obama aide said that later this week, possibly on Thursday, Obama is expected to give a speech to stress the urgency of the crisis and what is needed to respond to it, warning that the jobless rate was at risk of rising to 10 percent if action is not taken.

BIPARTISAN PUSH

Obama's appearance on Capitol Hill underscored his campaign promise to work with members of both parties to curb mounting partisan bickering and congressional gridlock.

U.S. President George W. Bush took office in 2001, declaring himself to be "a uniter, not a divider." Yet during his eight years in office, battles between Democrats and Republicans escalated.

Obama vows to work with members of both parties on a range of issues, including an economic stimulus package of about $775 billion. Critics charge the figure will likely swell and Republicans have raised concerns it could top $1 trillion.

Sixty percent of Obama's proposal would go to federal spending on such basics as roads, bridges, education and health care, with the remainder, about $310 billion, in tax cuts for the middle class and businesses, party aides said.

As Obama proposed during the campaign, workers would get a $500 payroll tax credit and businesses would receive tax incentives aimed at job creation.

The tax relief is designed to help draw support from fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill, who prefer cutting taxes to increasing federal spending and the already record deficit.

(Writing by Thomas Ferraro; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by David Wiessler)