House Democratic leaders will hold a forum with leading economists on Monday as part of a broader effort to build bipartisan support for passing a stimulus package this year.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will host the forum in her Capitol office and said the goal will be to help Congress craft a plan for increasing jobs and boosting the economy.

“Just as the president and Congress worked together in recent weeks on an economic rescue plan to help bring stability to our financial markets, we must now take additional action and pass a jobs creation and economic recovery stimulus plan,” Pelosi said.

In recent weeks, Pelosi has been upping the pressure on Republicans and President Bush to support passing such a proposal this year. Specifically, Democrats are after a stimulus package that includes infrastructure resources, unemployment insurance, food stamps and state Medicaid assistance.

“House Democratic leaders look forward to hearing from many of America’s pre-eminent economic minds on what Congress and the president can do together to help families who are struggling in these difficult and worrying economic times,” the Speaker said.