Barack Obama has signed his $787 billion (£546 billion) economic stimulus plan into law.

Both houses of Congress passed the plan late on Friday, although it got no Republican support in the House of Representatives and only three Republican votes in the Senate.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Denver, Mr Obama said: “I don’t want to pretend marks the end of our economic problems, nor does it constitute all of what we’re going to have to do to turn our economy around, but today does marks the beginning of the end.”

He said the plan represented the first steps to set the US economy on a firmer foundation.

The new US president also said the plan would put Americans back in work and would also hopefully lead to more technical innovation.

“Just as President Kennedy sparked an explosion of innovation when he set America’s sights on the Moon, I hope this investment will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, in medicine, in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure, and our planet safer for our children,” Mr Obama said on Tuesday.

The package was amended a number of times before it was finally accepted by the Senate. One of the more controversial original measures was a “Buy American” clause which favoured the use of US materials for government projects.

The term raised concern over international trade agreements, however, and the clause was altered so as not to violate agreements with Canada and Europe.