ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's Sonny Perdue and South Carolina's Mark Sanford were among the nation's governors who met with Democratic President-elect Barack Obama to talk about the budget woes states are facing.

The meeting Tuesday was part of National Governors Association gathering in Philadelphia.

Obama said Tuesday he wants the governors' advice in designing an economic recovery package to help their states hit hard by the current recession.

Perdue's spokesman Bert Brantley said the Republican governor was impressed with the bipartisan tone of the meeting.

He called it a "productive policy-based discussion.''

Georgia is one of a number of states facing a shortfall and is making cuts to the state budget to make ends meet.

During the meeting, President-elect Obama assured the governors he was willing to help.

One of the ways would be to push forward a 700-billion dollar economic stimulus package.

But Governor Mark Sanford doesn't think that's the solution.

During the conference, many of the governors said they will do their part to balance their state's budget by cutting jobs and programs.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)