US President Barack Obama's on 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 US$800 billion stimulus plan which was aimed to save the US 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 US$819 billion version.