Biden: Economy could 'absolutely' tank

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Vice President-elect Joe Biden says the U.S. economy is in danger of "absolutely tanking," ABC News reported Friday.

Biden -- in an interview set to air Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" -- said the economy will need another stimulus package, amounting to $600 billion or $700 billion.

"The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in," Biden said. "There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That's the only short run."

Biden said he has spoken with Democrats and Republicans in Congress about a "big" and "bold" stimulus package. He said the incoming Obama administration will emphasize job creation as well as spending on energy and information technology infrastructure.

"Every single person I've spoken to agrees with every major economist," he said. "There is going to be real significant investment, whether it's $600 billion or more, or $700 billion, the clear notion is, it's a number no one thought about a year ago."

Biden said the "single most important thing" the next administration must do is "to begin to stem this bleeding here and begin to stop the loss of jobs in the creation of jobs."