House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she hopes that congressional leaders and President Bush can reach a speedy agreement on an economic stimulus package and said the first rule of such a proposal will be to do no harm.

“We want to go to the table with the president to reach consensus so we can come out with a legislative agenda so we can move quickly to relieve hardship,” she said.

Pelosi, D-Calif., said, ”We don’t want to do anything that would diminish confidence in the market or confidence in continuing spending. That’s why we want a bipartisan initiative that would instill confidence.”

In a report released Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office said the timing of a stimulus package will be key and that if Congress doesn’t get it right, such a proposal may have a negative economic effect.

“Poorly timed policies may do harm by aggravating inflationary pressures and needlessly increasing federal debt if they stimulate the economy after it has already started to recover,” said the report, which was requested by the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget committees.

Congressional leaders plan to meet with Bush on Jan. 22 to talk about his Middle East trip and the economic situation, senior House aides said.

Meanwhile, a variety of options are being discussed for a stimulus package but no decisions have been made. Both Republicans and Democrats appear open to the idea of a one-time tax rebate, although Democrats want it focused on middle- and lower-income Americans who they argue are more likely to spend it.

But there are likely to be disputes if Democrats push for spending initiatives, possibly in the food stamp and Medicaid programs, or if Republicans push for an extension of some of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.