Pelosi presses case for stimulus

Democratic leaders looked to bolster their case Monday for an economic stimulus package that they could push in a lame-duck session.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) highlighted a conference call with top economists, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, in calling for a stimulus that she said should be modeled after a bill the House prepared in September.

{mosads}“Leading economists told us again today that we must pass an economic recovery package soon to give another boost to the economy, create jobs, and lessen the length and severity of a recession,” Pelosi said in a statement after the call. “If we don’t, the economy will only get worse.”

Besides Summers, the call featured Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz and former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Arthur Levitt, among others.

At a round of congressional hearings last week, several top economists as well as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified in support of a second stimulus package following the round of tax rebate checks Congress passed earlier this year. The White House, however, has expressed reservation about some of the proposals floated for the package by Democrats.

Pelosi said she spoke with President Bush after Bernanke's testimony. She said the two "agreed to strive to find bipartisan agreement on an economic recovery package.

"Now we must find what is both fiscally responsible and politically possible, and the House-passed legislation is a strong starting point, which the Senate could pass next month and send to the president," Pelosi continued.

Economists have offered support for a stimulus package of between $150 billion to $300 billion. Most have said the package should include investments in infrastructure, aid to cities and states, an extension of unemployment insurance and additional money for food stamps. Democrats have also signaled an interest in using some of the  
package to support broadband Internet access and jobs in green industries.

“While the financial rescue legislation is beginning to un-thaw credit, there is widespread agreement that a fiscally responsible job-creating recovery package is urgently necessary to prevent a deep recession,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a separate statement.