When Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Budget Committee today, he's expected to announce his support for a short-term economic stimulus package, as long as it's based on measures that are quick and temporary, according to the New York Times this morning. He's told lawmakers he won't comment on proposals to link a stimulus package to the permanent extension of President Bush's tax cuts.

Finally some political sanity. I wish Alan Greenspan had taken that stance as President Bush continued to cut taxes during a war. If Greenspan had we wouldn't have added so much to U.S. debt and this country would be in much better shape fiscally to get us through the current credit storm.

Bernanke's support for the short-term fix is critical to getting many lawmakers to accept a stimulus package even if it means adding to the U.S. deficit. Without it, Congress probably could not pass a veto-proof economic stimulus package. President Bush would likely veto anything that doesn't include a permanent extension of his tax cuts to try to bully the Congress into continuing his economic folly - paying for a war on future debt. Our children certainly will hate us for a long time if we continue to ignore the burden we're putting on them.

Congress knows something needs to be done to avoid a deeper recession and possible a depression. We're already seeing housing prices drop at a rate not seen since the Great Depression. We're already seeing not only foreclosures on homes, but reports of increasing defaults on credit card debt and car loans. People are tapped out financially and without some short-term economic stimulus this country will fall into a deeper recession. Yes, I know a recession has not been officially declared, but that won't happen until we're months into it. After seeing the poor retail numbers for December it's here guys and it's time to act.

I'm glad to see the Democratic leadership wants to work with Bernanke to design a logical package for economic stimulus. Why not work with the man who can influence monetary policy as one tries to draft sane fiscal policy? It makes sense and maybe with the politicians and the Fed working together, they actually can come up with a fix that will work. I'm keeping both my fingers and my toes crossed.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including the "Complete Idiot's Guide to the Federal Reserve."