On Capitol Hill, talks between Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, have focused on smaller tax rebates of perhaps $500 for individuals, bonus depreciation and small business expensing, as well as Democrats' call for boosts in unemployment benefits, food stamp payments and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled.
It's a rare display of bipartisanship that was not taken as a given when Washington buzz about a possible stimulus measure reached a tipping point two weeks ago.
Then, the White House adopted a cautious stance, saying that Bush hadn't decided whether the economy was sour enough to require a fiscal jolt. Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., initially fretted that any stimulus plan might get loaded up with a lot of unrelated junk and that GOP partisans would force politically difficult votes as the measure moved through that chamber.
But Pelosi stepped out first, insisting Congress would go forward. Bush and his GOP allies in Congress saw little choice but to go along.
But both sides have negotiated in good faith. Republicans and Bush declined to insist on extending Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that expire in three years, while Democrats offered up tax breaks for business and limited their roster of spending proposals. Democrats also agreed to waive budget rules requiring tax increases to finance the measure.
The rush to produce an economic stimulus bill comes as recent data on the economy is increasingly negative and as the issue has become a top priority with voters.
The major players appear motivated chiefly by a desire to help people who are hurting as the economy sags. But the political benefits of looking responsive to demands by voters to do something about the economy are not lost on lawmakers and the White House at a time when approval ratings for both are in the gutter.
''We'd all like to have a better record. I don't think any of us are particularly proud of the session of Congress just completed and we'd like to start things out on a better footing,'' said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. ''But I really do think it's more like, 'We've got to do something about the economy.' This is a no-games deal.''