Obama Urges the Senate to Pass the Stimulus Bill

United States President Barack Obama has warned of more bad news to come if the massive economic stimulus bill is not passed soon.

On Thursday, the United States Senate has spent all day debating the nearly one trillion US dollar plan before Congress.

In a speech at the Department of Energy, Obama fought back against critics, charging that those who oppose his plan to stimulate the collapsing economy were promoting failed theories and ignoring the depth of the crisis.

"The time for talk is over. The time for action is now, because we know that if we do not act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse. Crisis could turn into catastrophe for families and businesses across the country. And I refuse to let that happen."

Earlier, the president hammered home that message in an impassioned opinion piece in the Washington Post, where he said that if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years and the US could lose five million more jobs.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate plodded through a fourth day of debate on the package.

Senate moderates worked to cut tens of billions of dollars from the bill in hopes of clearing the way for its passage by the end of the week.