House Democratic leaders started publicly floating the idea of a second economic stimulus package Wednesday, though they stopped short of committing to introducing legislation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hosted an economic forum with high-profile Democratic economists.

“Here we are again,” she said.

Pelosi considers the December forum the provenance of the economic stimulus package that passed in February.

And the economists she invited told them that more economic stimuli should be considered.

“The outlook for the economy looks bleaker than it did in December,” said former Treasury Secretary and Harvard University President Lawrence Summers.

Summers also urged lawmakers to consider public works spending in addition to their plans to repurchase large chunks of sub-prime mortgages, a plan he acknowledged was urgent.

“The urgent shouldn’t crowd out the profoundly important,” Summers said.

Pelosi seems to agree. In another hint at her plans, she announced that she will hold a similar forum next week on public works projects, a key part of what many lawmakers think should be in a stimulus package.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) was even less subtle than Pelosi about a stimulus.

“Washington is ready to respond in a prudent, focused way,” he said, though he still did not directly call for a second stimulus.

The mortgage plan is being crafted by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

On Wednesday, Frank shared general details about his plan, which he said he would unveil in draft form as soon as next week and would help as many as 2.8 million homeowners facing foreclosure.
Under the plan, the government would only buy mortgages at a deep discount from lenders. Once they were purchased, the government would refinance the mortgages through guarantees by the Federal Housing Administration at a cost of up to $12 billion.

Those homeowners finding themselves under water — with their mortgage worth more than their home — would presumably have a portion of their debt reduced.

Frank said the plan would only help those in danger of losing their homes, not speculators. He also said he would introduce legislation to funnel billions of dollars to states to purchase foreclosed homes.

The first stimulus package was made possible by a bipartisan agreement remarkable for its speed and lack of animosity.

But on Wednesday, Republicans threw cold water on the idea of a second stimulus, saying Democrats’ ideas cost too much and Congress should wait to see whether the first stimulus works.

“To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, Washington Democrats have a million ideas and America can’t afford them all,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Democrats’ discussion of a second stimulus comes as a new CNBC poll indicates Americans are looking more to Democrats than Republicans to help with the economy. The poll found that 39 percent of respondents thought Democrats would do a better job dealing with the economy, while 25 percent favored Republicans. In the poll, 32 percent thought Democrats would do a better job improving their financial situation, compared to 26 percent for Republicans.