Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the U.S. House is likely to act next month on a $500 billion to $600 billion economic-stimulus measure aimed at making long-term investments in renewable energy as well as providing a short- term boost for the economy.

“Economists told us that the package had to be strong enough, half a trillion, $600 billion, somewhere near that,” Pelosi said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt.”

She said the legislation will be geared toward some broader Democratic priorities -- such as boosting broadband Internet technology and making environmentally friendly improvements to the nation’s electric-power grid -- in addition to more-traditional road-and-bridge projects. Some of the spending will extend beyond 2009, she said.

“I hear people say, ‘Oh, they want a 1930s public works project,’” said Pelosi, 68. “No. Certainly we will have public works projects in it, but it’s about broadband for all Americans. It’s about a smart, modern grid to be able to transmit the new, renewable energy -- wind, solar, biofuels, the rest. It’s about a very modern approach to building the infrastructure of America.

“Some of the money would be spent beyond one year,” she said. “It would be about infrastructure, rebuilding America’s infrastructure -- creating good-paying jobs in America; innovation, to do so in a new, green way that causes a green revolution in our country,” she said.

Obama’s Replacement

Pelosi added her voice to the chorus of top Democrats calling for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to refrain from appointing President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was charged this week with attempting to sell his choice for a lucrative job or prestigious appointment, among other allegations.

“He should have nothing to do with the appointment of President-elect Obama’s replacement,” said Pelosi, a California Democrat.

Earlier this week, Obama and all 50 Senate Democrats called on the Illinois governor to resign.

As Democrats prepare to ramp up public works projects, Pelosi endorsed a proposal by Obama to create a national infrastructure bank to boost transportation spending through an independent selection process that would prevent lawmakers from “earmarking” projects for their home districts.

“We want public-private partnerships,” Pelosi said. “We want our money leveraged through a bank so that we get much more for the dollar -- the taxpayers’ dollar.”

No Pork-Barrel Projects

Obama is proposing creation of the infrastructure bank that would direct investments for roads and other public-works projects based on merit instead of pork-barrel politics. It would get about $60 billion over 10 years.

“We want to be able to have a commission of some sort associated with that bank that would establish priorities so that we know we are spending money on the highest level of importance in terms of the infrastructure, whether we’re talking about roads, bridges, rapid transit, the water systems,” she said. “This is a historic opportunity for us.”

Pelosi said Democratic leaders haven’t decided whether to include that proposal in the economic-stimulus measure that moves through Congress next month.

Pelosi said Democrats who control the House and Senate are working closely with Obama as they craft the legislation.

Tax Cuts

Obama is pushing for a package of middle-class tax cuts as part of the package. Pelosi said she would like to include some tax breaks, while noting the need to keep stimulus spending from swelling the U.S. budget deficit any more than necessary.

“I have to have a clear hold on the cost,” Pelosi said. “We want to have enough investment to change the economic path we’re on, but not so much that we’re weighted down by a bigger deficit.”

Lawmakers also are consulting a team of economists as they assemble a package.

Earlier this week, all House Democrats met with a panel of experts, including Robert D. Reischauer, president of the Washington-based Urban Institute and former director of the Congressional Budget Office; Alice Rivlin, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington; and Laura Tyson, former head of the National Economic Council in the Clinton administration and an adviser to Obama.

Pelosi said the goal is for Congress to approve stimulus legislation before Obama takes office on Jan. 20. The new session of Congress begins Jan. 6.

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 12, 2008 12:23 EST