VIDEO: Obama: Confident Stimulus Plan To Pass

`I`m confident we`re going to get it passed,` Obama told reporters as he started a White House meeting with corporate executives.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was confident his $825 billion economic stimulus package would be passed by the Democratic-led Congress, despite Republican opposition to parts of the plan.

Working to build momentum for his economic recovery package, Obama said urgent action was needed, as a Democratic plan was headed toward anticipated passage on Wednesday in a sharply divided House of Representatives.

"I'm confident we're going to get it passed," Obama told reporters as he started a White House meeting with corporate executives, when asked whether he could count on Republican support in winning congressional approval.

Working closely with Obama, who has said he is open to changes to the plan as he began his second week in office, the House began a full day of debate on one of the most expensive single bills ever considered by Congress.

Most House Republicans were planning to oppose the legislation. They will offer a competing plan, which is expected to fail, that would scrap the Democrats' hundreds of billions of dollars in spending to jump-start the economy and instead call for a series of tax cuts.

Once the House votes, action moves to the Senate, which is considering a similar bill. Democrats want to hand Obama a bill he can sign into law by mid-February.

Obama used his talks with business leaders to keep up a lobbying campaign for passage of his economic plan, which could be the signature domestic initiative of his first term as he struggles to deal with the worst financial crisis in decades.

"These are some of the leading CEOs in the country .... They are on the front lines in seeing enormous problems in our economy right right now," he said, with the corporate chiefs sitting around a table.

"Their ideas and their concerns have helped to shape our recovery package, and I'm grateful that they're here today to talk about why it's so important that we act and act swiftly in order to get this economy back on track," he added.

More in the VIDEO: Obama seeks Republican support