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WASHINGTON (CBS News) ― President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a massive $787 billion package to revive the economy, saying the measure represented the "essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time."

It was a major political victory for Mr. Obama, who took office less than a month ago.

The stimulus plan of spending programs and tax cuts is at the heart of Mr. Obama's effort to turn the economy back into a job-creating machine. It comes with a huge price tag for taxpayers and lingering doubts about whether the plan's results will match all the lofty promises that its supporters have made.

Mr. Obama signed the bill in Denver, the city where he accepted his party's presidential nomination last summer and a leader in the so-called "green" clean energy jobs that the legislation supports. The president now turns his attention to a plan to help struggling homeowners who are trying to fend off foreclosure.

"I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic troubles," Obama said before signing the legislation. "Nor does it constitute all of what we going to have to do to turn our economy around. But today does mark the beginning of the end."

The $787 billion package aims to reverse the nation's economic free fall. It pumps money into infrastructure projects, health care, renewable energy development and conservation. There's a $400 tax break for most individual workers and $800 for couples. It dishes out tens of billions of dollars to states.

The signing ceremony was at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The setting was to underscore the new law's investments in "green" energy-related jobs.

Ahead of Mr. Obama's arrival in Colorado, the White House went live with a Web site, www.recovery.gov, that will allow people to track where the money is being spent. The White House press office also promoted the projected job growth for each state and congressional district.

Much of the plan's success, CBS News chief White House correspondent Bill Plante reports, depends on where individual states spend the money. In addition, the administration is trying to downplay expectations that the plan will work quickly.

Republican response to the signing was swift. CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports that, in a statement, RNC Chairman Michael Steele said Mr. Obama signed "a pork-laden bill without any public review or meaningful Republican support."

He said the bill "will fall short of creating the promised new jobs, but will guarantee a larger debt burden on our children and grandchildren."

Tuesday is when General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which are living off a combined $13.4 billion in federal bailout loans, are due to hand in plans to the government about how they can remain viable.

And on Wednesday in Arizona, Mr. Obama will unveil another part of his economic recovery effort - a plan to help millions of homeowners fend off foreclosure.

But first comes the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, which tries to address the nation's economic free fall on multiple fronts.

It pumps money into infrastructure projects, health care, renewable energy development and conservation, with twin goals of short-term job production and longer-term economic viability.

There's a $400 tax break for most individual workers and $800 for couples, including those who do not earn enough to pay income taxes. It dishes out tens of billions of dollars to states so they can head off deep cuts and layoffs. It provides financial incentives for people to start buying again, from first homes to new cars.

And it provides help to poor people and laid-off workers, with increased unemployment benefits and food stamps, and subsides for health insurance.

What the legislation is not expected to do is change the nation's economic fortunes quickly. So part of the White House's goal has been managing expectations.

In addition, a top aide said Tuesday that Mr. Obama isn't ruling out a second economic stimulus plan, even as he signed this one into law. Aboard Air Force One en route to Denver, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters the White House was open-minded about another similar effort. But he stressed that there are no plans currently in the works for one.

Gibbs had said over the long holiday weekend that "things have not yet bottomed out. They are probably going to get worse before they improve. But this is a big step forward toward making that improvement and putting people back to work."

The unemployment rate is now at 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years. Analysts warn the economy will remain feeble through 2009.

Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, largely balked at the economic package. It drew no GOP votes in the House and only three in the Senate, albeit vital ones. Many Republicans said it was short on cutting taxes and the spending measures didn't target the vast sums of money well enough toward short-term job creation, which was the major goal of the bill.

But with the economy shedding jobs, there was widespread consensus in Washington for some sort of stimulus, and fast.

Yet the government's action comes at a cost down the line.

Many private economists are forecasting that the budget deficit for the current year will hit $1.6 trillion, including the stimulus spending. That's about three times last year's shortfall, and such year-to-year deficits contribute toward a mounting national debt.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)