As Economic News Gets Worse, Pelosi Calls For Second Stimulus

With one piece of bad news after another painting a dismal picture for the nation's economy, congressional Democrats are hoping for another kumbaya moment with the Bush administration as they push for a second economic stimulus bill.

But the second bill won't be nearly as easy as the first stimulus, which will provide $1,200 tax rebate checks in the coming weeks to households across the country. Democrats are pushing many of the items already rejected in the last economic package, including food stamp increases, billions in infrastructure spending and more unemployment benefits. Republicans are already calling for making permanent the Bush tax cuts, which expire in 2010.

Nonetheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday morning she wants to work with the president to piece together another economic aid bill. Congressional leaders will meet with Bush next week to discuss the issue.

"When congressional leaders meet with the president next week, I will urge him to refocus his attention on America’s economy and to again work in a bipartisan manner on a new stimulus package," Pelosi said in a Friday statement. "We need to work together to restore consumer and market confidence, to assist millions of Americans threatened with the loss of their homes and to help families meet the rising costs of necessities." 

Pelosi's statement came after yet another bit of bad news was released about the country's economic health, as the Labor Department announced that the U.S. lost 80,000 jobs last month. That announcement, not surprisingly, has created a flurry of partisan responses, with Democrats blaming the Bush administration while Republicans used the jobs report to blast Democrats for failing to enact permanent tax cuts.

 
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