The stimulus package passed by the House of Representatives by 244-188 votes, however, failed to receive even a single vote from the opposition Republican lawmakers, marking the the first major setback to President Barack Obama in gaining bipartisan support to his major policy decisions.

Obama had spent hours on Tuesday meeting Republican leaders at the Capitol Hill making his personal appeal to them.

Eleven Democrats also voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which now moves to the Senate for vote, before it could be signed into law by Obama.

In a statement, soon thereafter Obama hoped that it would receive bipartisan support in the Senate.

"I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk. But what we can't do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way.

"We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do," he said.