White House pours cold water on Democrats' stimulus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday threw cold water on a push by Democrats for another economic stimulus package, pointing to the financial rescue package as the antidote for the ailing U.S. economy.

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said on Monday they were considering another economic stimulus plan that would include transportation projects, aid for unemployed workers and help for states facing growing health care costs.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration did not think the ideas Democrats discussed would stimulate the economy and said the $700 billion bailout plan being crafted by the Treasury Department was the best strategy for now.

"We think the best way to get the economy moving is to implement this plan that the Treasury secretary laid out today," she told reporters, adding that the White House nevertheless would examine ideas put forward by the Democrats.

But she also noted that Democrats were not planning to move on legislation until mid-November, which she said raised questions about the urgency of such stimulus.

Early this year, before a steep drop in global markets and the teetering of several U.S. banks, Congress passed and Bush signed a $168 billion stimulus package that was credited with helping short-term economic growth.

"Our highest priority has to be right now the economic rescue package and the implementation and getting it right so that we solve the problem in the credit markets and also protect the taxpayer at the same time," Perino said.

The U.S. decision to take up to $250 billion in equity stakes in financial institutions announced on Tuesday follows similar moves in Europe.

Perino said that U.S. President George W. Bush earlier on Tuesday spoke to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss coordination efforts to address the market crisis.

Bush also plans to meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday morning, Perino said, to discuss the financial markets, which were hurt when the credit market froze up as the U.S. housing market collapsed.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Diane Craft)