Democrats are looking to tap as much as $70 billion in unused funds from the Wall Street bailout to pay for new spending on roads and bridges and to save the jobs of firefighters, teachers and other public employees, officials said Thursday.

After talks with the administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Democratic lawmakers are eyeing what remains from last year's $700 billion financial rescue package as a way to finance job-related legislation. Two House Democratic aides said the figure could be as high as $70 billion.

The aides, who required anonymity to describe the private talks, discussed the dollar figure after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said money from the bailout should be used to pay for jobs legislation that would funnel billions of dollars to road, bridge and other infrastructure projects and also help struggling state and local governments retain public employees.

She also promised help for small businesses reeling from a credit crunch.

Pelosi didn't give a price tag on the initiative and said it would come on top of a costly "safety net" initiative that would again extend unemployment payments for those whose benefits have run out and renew a program that offers the jobless a 65 percent subsidy for health insurance premiums under the COBRA program.

Pelosi's remarks to reporters came as the White House held a jobs forum of business and labor leaders to explore ideas on how to boost slumping employment figures.

Most of what Pelosi described were ideas included in February's $787 billion economic recovery bill. Even the most ardent supporters of that measure wish it were doing more to help employment.

"We want to build upon what has been successful for us," Pelosi said.

One new idea Democrats and the White House are looking at is a program to give people cash incentives to retrofit their homes with energy-saving materials along the lines of the Cash for Clunkers program that boosted car sales this summer.

About $210 billion of Troubled Assets Relief Program money remains uncommitted or has been paid back; Bank of America Corp. also announced Wednesday that it would repay its $45 billion in government bailout money.

The administration has been wary of using TARP funds for other purposes, but Pelosi's comments come after administration officials have privately softened that stance in discussions with congressional Democrats.

"The investment that we have in jobs ought to be paid for in TARP funds," Pelosi said.