House To Push $500 Billion Stimulus Package For Obama To Sign On Day One

Nancy Pelosi says the House will push for a stimulus package in the range of $500 billion that will be ready for Barack Obama to sign when he is sworn in on January 20th:

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package that one Democratic aide said was likely to cost around $500 billion.

The aide, who asked not to be identified, said the legislation would include a middle-class tax cut, billions of dollars for road, bridge and mass transit construction, expanded aid to states and investments in renewable energy.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Pelosi said she hoped the job-creating legislation, which she did not detail, would be ready for President-elect Barack Obama to sign when he takes office on January 20.

The nation's governors are understandably eager for some help:

Facing severe cutbacks in state services as the recession deepens, the nation's governors pressed their case in Congress on Monday, asking for at least $40 billion to help pay for health care for the poor and disabled.

The governors are also pressing for as much as $136 billion worth of infrastructure projects like road and bridge repairs as the Democratic-controlled Congress and President-elect Barack Obama prepare economic recovery legislation that Obama hopes to sign immediately upon taking office.

Obama will meet Tuesday with the governors at a National Governors Association meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.