Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, is leading efforts to devise a new $150 billion (£88 billion) lifeline for low income Americans.

Ms Pelosi wants to galvanise backing for a new financial stimulus package to increase the US food-stamp programme and extend unemployment benefits. It is understood that she is also proposing that federal funds be used for new public infrastructure projects to create jobs.

Food stamps date back to 1943, and are part of a federal programme that gives very low-income families an allowance to spend on groceries. The allowance is distributed on to debit cards which can be used in supermarkets across the country, and recipients are also eligible to claim free school meals for their children.A record 28 million Americans now receive food stamps at a cost to the Government of almost $30 billion a year.

Ms Pelosi, who is hosting a meeting with other lawmakers today, has said that she could try to force through a Bill after the presidential election on November 4, but before Christmas.

In the event that her $150 billion proposal is passed, it would mark the second of its kind this year: in May, about 130 million Americans were posted tax rebates worth $168 billion to encourage them to spend and boost consumer confidence. The package would come on top of the $700 billion agreed this month to bail out Wall Street and the $150 billion in additional tax cuts for middle America.

Larry Summers, the US Treasury Secretary under President Clinton and a Harvard University economist, said: “The Government needs to up infrastructure spending and create jobs.” It could take “several quarters” before the economy stopped shrinking, he said.

Barney Frank, the Democrat chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said yesterday: “I am in support of bringing this after the election. We are going to do a stimulus package to give the middle classes and the average citizen the same kind of relief we gave to the financial sector.”

Americans are struggling to keep pace with surging unemployment, rising food prices and high petrol costs. At the same time, traditional routes for new credit have been closed to many, with banks reining in on overdraft limits and credit card thresholds.

Mr Frank also called on the Treasury to use some of the $700 billion bailout to buy up distressed mortgages and renegotiate interest rates: “Lenders should pay the penalty — they should take a significant penalty.”

Mr Frank’s comments came only two days after Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, hinted that under his new scheme to take direct stakes in US banks, he would not use taxpayer funds to prop up those that otherwise would be too weak to survive.

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