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WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Feb 6 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday said it was her "understanding" that the Senate would "produce a bill today" on an economic stimulus.
Pelosi told reporters she spoke earlier in the day with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a fellow Democrat, which led her to believe the Senate would pass the measure promptly.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said negotiators from the House and Senate would begin crafting a compromise bill on Monday, with the goal of sending legislation to President Barack Obama by the end of next week.
The Democratic leaders made their remarks on the sidelines of a three-day meeting with their rank-and-file House members.
Possibly showing fading hopes that Republicans ultimately will join Democrats to pass a stimulus bill that could cost more than $800 billion, Pelosi said the legislation would mark "the rejection of the policies as usual that the Republicans are proposing that got us where we are in the first place."
Last week, the House approved an $819 billion bill that aimed to combine $275 billion in tax cuts with massive government spending in construction projects and other initiatives to jolt the U.S. economy out of its recession.
That bill passed the House without a single Republican supporting it.
Since Monday, the Senate has been struggling to pass its version, which now totals about $100 billion more than the House bill.
A group of moderate senators is trying to pare back the spending portion, possibly by cutting some education funds and other projects they deem ineffective in quickly stimulating the economy.
Pelosi made it clear that her House negotiators could resist such moves once the legislation moves to its next stage on Monday.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Vicki Allen)