ELKHART, Ind. -- President Barack Obama took his case for a massive economic stimulus plan directly to the people Monday with a visit to northern Indiana.

Obama didn't mince words when he described what he considers to be the economic peril the nation faces.

"We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression. Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don’t act immediately, millions more jobs will be lost, and national unemployment rates will approach double digits," Obama said. "More people will lose their homes and their health care, and our nation will sink into a crisis that, at some point, we may be unable to reverse."

Elkhart was chosen for a town hall meeting because of the unique economic situation it faces.

The Elkhart and Goshen region has the state's highest unemployment rate. It soared to 15.3 percent in December, up sharply from 4.7 percent a year earlier.

Almost no place in the country has been hit as hard by the recession as the northern Indiana towns that make up the heart of the nation's RV industry.

Hundreds of workers have lost their jobs at RV makers such as Monaco Coach Corp., Keystone RV Co. and Pilgrim International.

"This area has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America," Obama said. "We're talking about folks who've lost their livelihood and don't know what will take its place."

Obama said the economic crisis facing the nation is not only dire, but urgent.

An $827 billion Senate version of Obama's economic stimulus plan was expected to pass the Senate on Tuesday. The House had already passed its $819 billion version of the measure.

Obama said the plan will either save or create as many as four million jobs over the next two years, focusing on infrastructure and renewable energy, while also providing tax relief for most Americans.

"This plan will provide for extended unemployment insurance, health care and other assistance for workers and families who have lost their jobs in this recession," Obama said. "That will mean an additional $100 per month in unemployment benefits to more than 450,000 Indiana workers, extended unemployment benefits for another 89,000 folks who’ve been laid off and can’t find work, and job training assistance to help more than 51,000 people here get back on their feet."

People who heard Obama speak said his message resonated with them.

"From the time he was here during the campaign, until now, things have gotten so much worse and I needed to hear some answers and he gave the answers I was looking for," one woman said.

"As far as Elkhart County is concerned, it gave us hope that we're going to get some more jobs in our county," another woman said.

But Republican Rep. Mike Pence told the crowd at a town-hall meeting he hosted in Columbus on Monday, that the president's plan was out of touch.

"It won't work. Spending money on a long-tired wish list of liberal priorities at the federal level is not going to put peopel to work in Columbus or across this country," he said.

Pence said that Republicans would support a bill that provided greater tax relief to small businesses and families while also spending money on infrastructure and unemployment benefits.