Obama promised action soon but would not state a firm deadline.

“We expect [lawmakers] to begin this week on this process. I expect to sign a bill to create 3 million jobs for the American people shortly after I get inaugurated,” he told reporters.

Pressed on the timeline, he added, “We anticipate that by the end of January or the first week in February we will have gotten the bulk of this done.”

Tax Details Come Early

The Obama team is working with Democratic leaders to fashion a $300 billion package of tax cuts targeting businesses, as well as middle- and lower-income Americans, whom Obama promised to help during his campaign.

A transition team source said that the package is expected to include a payroll tax credit, a key part of Obama’s campaign platform; tax incentives for companies that hire new workers and avoid layoffs; and a net operating loss carryback provision that would allow businesses to use losses from 2008 or 2009 to offset taxable income from five prior years and receive an immediate refund. Under current law, the loss provision applies to two years of prior taxable income.

The tax credit would amount to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for working couples, although it was not clear what the income eligibility cutoff would be.

Some Senate Republicans said they wanted to see the specifics of the tax plan to ensure it would affect a wide variety of businesses and individuals.

“It’s tricky to make sure the relief is big enough to make a dent in our huge economy and done in a way that stimulates growth,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee.

Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, a senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he wants the panel to have a chance to mark up the stimulus bill.

Neal said he is pleased that the emerging plan will include an accelerated depreciation allowance provision, but he wants it to include language that would lift the cap on tax-exempt private activity bonds, which are used by states and municipalities to raise money for various projects.

Republicans Want Input

All sides left the meeting with Obama saying that they were pleased with the tone of the gathering but that no agreements were struck.

Both Boehner and McConnell said they received no specific commitments from Democrats on what will be done to ensure that Republicans have input. For instance, both GOP leaders have been pushing for public hearings on the bill, but they said they were not sure that would happen.

Obama told reporters he is “confident that we can accomplish unprecedented transparency, even as we move this package forward. Not only will Congress know exactly what’s in this bill, but we’re exploring steps, for example, like putting on a Web site very detailed information about all the projects that are taking place, what kind of impact we expect them to have, what kinds of job growth we hope to generate as a consequence of any of the discrete items that we’re putting forward.”

McConnell also has suggested that money provided to states be in the form of loans rather than grants, arguing that the move would force them to spend more wisely.

Obama “didn’t have any particular response to any of our suggestions; that does not mean he wasn’t listening,” McConnell said.

Moderate Democrats Worry About Debt

Some moderate Democrats in both chambers have also voiced concern about passing a stimulus that will add significantly to the growing deficit without taking some action to show that Congress and the new administration are serious about tackling the long-term growth of the nation’s debt.

Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad , D-N.D., and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the panel’s ranking Republican, authored an op-ed that appeared in The Washington Post on Monday calling for Congress and the new administration to do something about the long-term growth of debt — due in part to large entitlement programs — that budget analysts say is not sustainable.

They suggested including in the stimulus bill language to create a task force of lawmakers and administration officials who would be charged with drafting proposals for dealing with long-term budget problems. The proposals would have to be voted on by Congress.

Meanwhile, the 51-member House Democratic Blue Dog Coalition is calling for the pay-as-you-go budget rule, which requires tax cuts and new mandatory spending to be offset, to be made into law soon to give it more teeth.

Obama has consistently said he will do something about the increasing amount of red ink on the government books but has not offered any specific proposals. On Monday, he said they would be offered soon.

Rep. John Tanner , D-Tenn., a leading Blue Dog, said that whatever is proposed will have to be “more than a wink and a nod.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said she did not support the creation of a task force or commission, reiterating her stance that the long-term cost of entitlement programs should be dealt with by the committees of jurisdiction.

She said she supports creating a pay-as-you-go law. However, she said that Congress would likely take that step later in the year when drafting its budget, rather than making it part of the stimulus bill.

“We have a number of vehicles with which we can deal with that,” she said.

Richard Rubin, Edward Epstein and Alan K. Ota contributed to this story.