Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem is telling city business and political leaders that he is not walking away from the negotiating table in Washington until a bipartisan agreement on an economic stimulus package is forged that helps Americans.

Speaking at a breakfast yesterday hosted by the Association for a Better New York, Mr. Rangel, who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he could not say what exactly the $150 billion package would include, but that there is a focus on getting money to low-income Americans who will quickly pump it back into the economy.

“Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership is prepared to do whatever is necessary in order to make sure this package comes with understanding of the needs of people, the needs of business, the need for us to set an example, so that the rest of the world will continue to have confidence in us,” he said, referring to the speaker of the House.

Mr. Rangel appeared upset by the sudden focus on low-income Americans as the solution to the country’s economic woes. With a heavy dose of sarcasm, he said the Bush administration “will be talking about people they have ignored for decades.”

Mr. Rangel, who has proposed a tax overhaul that would impose a 4% to 4.6% surcharge on people earning more than $200,000 a year to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, said he is often asked whether the tax cuts introduced by President Bush will be extended beyond 2010, but offered little insight. “At 78 years old, I don’t buy green bananas,” he said. “And so I don’t know what’s going to happen in 2010.”