Dems Offer Olive Branch To Bush On Economic Package

Maybe all this campaign talk about bipartisanship and breaking gridlock in Washington is getting through to congressional leaders and the White House.

In an magnanimous move, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have sent President Bush a letter asking for a high level meeting so both sides can try to work out a bipartisan economic stimulus package before Democrats and Republicans start bickering about the specifics in public. In the letter, to be released this afternoon, Pelosi and Reid say they want to work with the White House and Republican leadership to "immediately develop a legislative plan."

Rather than pre-empting the president's expected economic proposals in his State of the Union address later this month, Democrats say they want to visit the White House next week and hash out a plan before either side releases its economic ideas.

"We would strongly urge this meeting take place before any economic packages are announced," Reid and Pelosi wrote in their letter.

Democrats are considering three ideas — an extension of unemployment insurance, expansion of food stamps and perhaps most importantly, rebate checks or more for every single taxpayer. The amount of these checks is being debated, but they would be similar to the $300 checks taxpayers received in 2001. President Bush has not been specific about his ideas beyond calling for a permanent extension of his 2001 tax cuts, which expire in 2010.

But as the housing crisis unfolds, unemployment creeps up and U.S. markets remain volatile, it's clear that both sides want to appear responsive to the economic problems. In a divided government, neither side is willing to make the compromises to hash out long-term regulatory or legislative fixes for the economy.

But it seems like politicians from both parties may be able to agree on one thing — giving Americans a little walking around money will be politically popular.