Pelosi Wants Billions More For Jobless, Food Stamps

A week after the $700 billion government bailout passes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling on her colleagues to approve an additional $150 billion economic stimulus package to increase food stamps, extend benefits for the long-term unemployed and prevent cuts in public healthcare coverage for the uninsured.

The veteran San Francisco lawmaker led a similar effort last month that would have allocated around $60 million to fund those programs but Senate Republicans killed it after House approval and the president would have surely vetoed it.

The monstrous government bailout of the nation’s financial system and the Federal Reserve’s half-point interest rate cut this week are not enough to help struggling poor Americans, according to Pelosi who claims that much more must be done urgently to boost the economy and bring relief to families.

Madam Speaker is considering calling lawmakers back to Washington after the November 4 election to work on her brilliant multi billion-dollar stimulus package. If Barack Obama becomes president, her mission will be a lot easier since Republicans, especially President George W. Bush, are reluctant to further spending to boost the economy.

Pelosi stressed the dire urgency of her plan during a visit to Colorado, a presidential election battleground state, to praise a Denver hospital that has provided billions of (taxpayer) dollars worth of free care to uninsured patients. The Speaker claims that the hospital, Denver Health, is a model for the country’s future (socialized?) health care system.