Gov. Jodi Rell met Wednesday with Connecticut's congressional delegation to discuss how the state could benefit from a national stimulus package.

Earlier this month, Rell wrote to officials from all of Connecticut's 169 cities and towns requesting recommendations for projects that could be submitted to President-elect Barack Obama.

Obama and Democrats in Congress hope to have an economic stimulus package of about $850 billion ready when the White House changes hands in a few weeks.

Wednesday was the deadline for submitting what the governor calls "shovel-ready" projects, which have cleared regulations and are approved to move forward.

"Timing is everything, and while Congress meets next week, every indication is that Obama, once he is sworn in, hopes to be able to have a package relatively quickly to sign and start to distribute funds to the state," Rell says.