Fast-Track New Stimulus: Pelosi

Congressional Democrats are looking to fast-track a $600 billion economic stimulus package in the first weeks of the New Year, the Washington Post reports. Nancy Pelosi said today lawmakers are working with the Obama transition team to craft the plan, which is smaller than the $1 trillion scheme floated earlier. The stimulus will likely include $200 billion in tax breaks and $400 million in infrastructure spending.

“I think we'll find some level of consensus in that range,” Pelosi said of debate surrounding the proposed package. The House Speaker also lambasted the Bush administration for not spending more of the $700 billion in TARP funds on struggling homeowners, and she promised more stringent oversight. “It's been totally ignored by the administration,” she said. “Absolutely nothing has been done to respect that part of the legislation.” (More Barack Obama stories.)