President-elect Barack Obama has promised Washington lawmakers long-term fiscal discipline despite a push for a costly economic stimulus plan.

Even as Obama promotes a spending and tax-cutting plan to budget-conscious lawmakers, they are pressing him to embrace deficit-reduction goals.

Obama's plan is expected to cost about $775 billion. So far, cost of the federal government's bailout excluding Obama's stimulus plan is $7.2 trillion in investments and loans. Previous programs through U.S Federal Reserve programs have sought to boost lending, however Obama's plan is aimed primarily at job creation and consumer spending.

Part of the discussion that needs to happen right now is not what we do just right now, but what we look to in the future - about how we get back to a balanced budget and then start to deal with this horrible, horrible national debt that we have, said Rep. Dennis Moore of Kansas, a member of the congressional Blue Dogs, according to the Associated Press.

Tuesday Obama promised to bring a long-overdue sense of responsibility and accountability to Washington and called the need for budget reform an absolute necessity.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was adamant about not looking at the short term costs of the program.

Many will focus on the upfront cost of this legislation. While we are not discussing small sums, focusing on the price tag alone ignores the cost of inaction and the real payoff in terms of job creation and increased revenues to our Treasury, Pelosi was to tell a House Democratic Policy and Steering Committee forum, according to prepared remarks reviewed by AP.

Obama warned that the nation could face trillion-dollar deficits for years to come. He also said if Americans believe the money is being used wisely then they will accept his proposed stimulus plan.

It would send a very healthy message to the markets and the American people if President-elect Obama were to simultaneously announce an economic recovery package and the beginning of a bipartisan process to deal with our long-term imbalances, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said.

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