Wow, just wow. If you have any doubts about what the Democrats will do once they controll the White House and both houses of Congress, read this. A group of Democratic lawmakers is pushing for a tax on Wall Street to defray the cost of a financial market rescue plan, but House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a measure to recoup costs could wait. Pelosi said on Thursday that Congress could consider subsequent legislation "down the road" to recoup some money from the proposed $700 billion rescue plan. Pelosi, a California Democrat, did not detail what those measures could be but referred to "pay fors," a term used in Washington for new taxes or government spending reductions. She said there are some members of Congress who want to impose "pay-fors" now. "I don't think that that position will prevail," she said. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, has been circulating a letter to other lawmakers calling for a 0.25 percent transaction fee on the sale and purchase of stock and more exotic transactions such as those involving credit default swaps, options and futures. He has said the tax would raise $150 billion a year to cover the costs of a bailout, instead of potentially charging it to taxpayers. Congress is considering a Bush administration plan that would give the government sweeping powers to buy up to $700 billion of soured investments -- most tied to home mortgages -- that have frozen financial markets. Speaking to reporters, Pelosi said, "I'm optimistic (the bailout) will pay for itself and make money for the taxpayers, especially if (government takes) an equity position that makes these companies healthy ... the money comes back to the Treasury." DeFazio said in his letter that "the easiest method to raise the $700 billion from Wall Street is a securities transfer tax, a tax that has a negligible impact on the average investor and provides a disincentive to short-term traders." Emerging from a meeting with fellow House Democrats on Thursday, DeFazio said, "Everybody's angry. This is like a giant screw job by Wall Street. They're holding a gun to their head and saying, 'If you guys don't help us, we're going to blow our brains out and take you with us.'" But Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat from Tennessee and an outspoken fiscal conservative who normally opposes deficit-spending, left the same meeting saying he would vote for the rescue package that was being crafted. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; additional reporting by Karey Wutkowski; editing by John Wallace) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE48O7X720080925?sp=true