Transcript of Pelosi Press Conference Today

Press Conference

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference today. Below is a transcript of the press conference.

Leader Pelosi. So this is who's here on a Friday morning. I guess you're all worn out from taking your children to work yesterday. Wasn't that glorious? Isn't it beautiful to see the future right there before our eyes? It's my favorite day. I wish every day could be Take Your Children to Work day. It was so great. It was a good day, too, because we had a very strong Democratic vote in support of the fiduciary rule, of Rule 2, protect and strengthen retirement security, and for the confidence of millions of Americans as they invest for their future, for their pensions, for their retirement. I don't even know why the Republicans would put forth a measure to undo that. It had such broad support in the private sector.

The Secretary, Secretary Perez, deserves tremendous credit for the manner in which he listened to concerns, ramifications of the rule in the private sector, accommodated those rules. Putting the beneficiary first is the theme of the rule, and at the end of the day, that's what the fiduciary rule will do, and I'm very proud that we had 100 percent vote in support of that yesterday.

Again, it's a waste of time -- it's a sad state of affairs because time is our most finite quantity, how we use it, how we underutilize it is a judgment that should be made about us. Right now, the Republicans are underutilizing the time the public has given us to act on their behalf. Here we have a perfunctory gesture yesterday that had no prospect of success, wasting the taxpayers' time and Congress' time. Instead, we are, once again, going to be leaving, Congress leaving for another break, for another break, without addressing the Zika crisis, the Flint crisis, the opioid crisis, all of which require the full attention of the Congress.

We have been working hard on solutions in that regard. In many cases, the Republicans are in denial, and, therefore, have their inaction on these subjects. Do your job. The American people are saying that. One way or another, saying to Congress, do your job. Do your job on Zika. Do your job on Flint. Do your job on opioids. Do your job. And do your job on the budget.

Again, the budget should be a statement of our national values. What is important to us as a nation should be demonstrated in how we write a budget. We have the Ryan "Road to Ruin' budget, the Republican budget, and even that is not cruel enough for some in his party. But, again, if a budget is a statement of values, we say to the Republicans, show us your values, show us your budget. The President has put forth and Democrats have put forth budgets that are a statement of our values about how we invest in the future. If you needed to know one thing about the Ryan budget, the American people needed to know one thing about it, it takes away the Medicare guarantee. It gives seniors instead of a guarantee, a voucher; very, very seriously undermining the good health, the pillar of financial and health security for America's seniors and working families.

We should not leave until we address the public health issues I mentioned, Zika being one of them, and not taking money from one public health initiative to another, taking money from Ebola to Zika. I don't know. It's stunning to see the disregard for fact, evidence, and substantiation of what the Zika challenge is to us.

So here we are again. When we were leaving for three‑week Easter vacation, Wednesday to coming in Tuesday night three weeks later, here we are, leaving again without action. Do your job, Congress.

Any questions? Yes, ma'am.

Q: You didn't mention Puerto Rico. I was wondering if you have had any discussions with Speaker Ryan about addressing the problem. I know there's a bond payment that's due on Sunday.

Leader Pelosi. There's a bond payment that's due on Sunday, and the inference to be drawn from the statements of the Governor [Alejandro García Padilla of Puerto Rico] is that they're not going to be able to make that payment. As you know, we had a commitment from the Speaker when Congress went out in the end of December that we would have something by the end of March. They asked for a little more time, and if that time was going to produce a better product, then let's use that time well. We are still trying to reach that solution. The Administration has been actively involved in trying to address some of the concerns that have been brought up by some in the Republican Caucus, and I'm still hopeful that we can come up with a bipartisan piece of legislation that will address the Puerto Rican challenge.

It's really important to note that the bill that we're talking about doesn't cost one red cent, one wooden nickel, one thin dime, not one dollar of taxpayer money. This is about enabling Puerto Rico to have the ability to restructure their debt, and they need that authorization from us. And so, to see these ads on TV are so -- really, it's almost immoral in terms of the misrepresentation of what they are saying in there. And the fact is that we do have to have legislation so that we can enable Puerto Rico to do what it needs to do for itself, and at the same time, be concerned about how pensions are treated there. Yes, sir?

Q: On that same topic, given that there appears or seems to be a lack of urgency around here, with a deadline Sunday, and then another deadline on July 1 for Puerto Rico, do you have any regrets on not insisting Puerto Rico be in the omnibus last fall?

Leader Pelosi. No. I have no regrets because we did insist. We just didn't get it. We just didn't get it. But what I would have hoped that our colleagues would have accepted was my resolution, privileged resolution, that I brought up to have a stay of litigation while all this was going on, and that would have been a very important part of addressing the problem, that stay of litigation. You may recall that was the proposal that I put forth on the floor of the House, but they rejected that. I think a sign of good faith would have been to support the stay of litigation, and then the time was not as important a factor, depending on how long the stay is. We still need a stay of litigation in whatever the legislation is that we put together.

Q: Quick follow‑up. Do you think Speaker Ryan and the Republicans have broken their promise?

Leader Pelosi. No. I think that they are operating in good faith. It's difficult. But you can't -- it's very hard to get anything done if you're a drive‑by Congress. We're barely here, and these deadlines are coming, as was indicated, May 1 is one deadline. July is another deadline for an even bigger tranche, probably around $2 billion; and hopefully, not default but potential default on that day.

But to see the misrepresentations on TV which make some of the, you know, the persuasion of the American people, you know, we are a reflection of the American people. We sometimes have to take difficult votes that have to fly in the face of serious misrepresentations that are put out there by whom? Is it the hedge funds that are paying for those ads, having a woman say she's going to lose her pension? She's going to be worse off without a bill. That's for sure.

So for those who say, well, let's not have a bill, that's not a good scenario. So we have to come to terms. I think the Speaker has an overriding, shall we say, principle which is the committees shall do the work, but at some point, there is going to have to be a moment where there's got to be a leadership decision that this is as good as it gets, and this is what we're going to take to the floor. Hopefully that will be very soon. Yes, ma'am?

Q: Do you have a problem with the Defense Authorization Bill switching $23 billion from OCO funding to the base defense? And what would Democrats do if that is reflected in the Defense Appropriations Bill?

Leader Pelosi. I do have a problem with it because as the Secretary of Defense testified on the Senate side, this is just not the way to go. What is our national security mission? What are our needs? How do we allocate our resources to that? This is silly what they are doing. It's silly. If, in fact, they want to -- hopefully they will understand that by the time we get to the appropriations process. But it's one of those things where they have gotcha things that they do, and this is one of their gotchas. But our Members, they voted for what they support in the bill, weighing the equities against what they don't support in the bill, and the OCO is something we don't support in the bill, but we'll take it one step at a time. But we cannot -- we cannot go forward with what we need to do for the American people in every way, we cannot honor the budget agreement that we all agreed to last year, which was a compromise, that established caps on what we spend domestically, and what we spend from a national security standpoint, by violating it in the first defense authorization bill that comes up. Yes, sir?

Q: Leader Pelosi, you mentioned Speaker Ryan's sort of leadership style, and I'm wondering with all these issues that Congress is dealing with Puerto Rico, with Zika, do you think this would be going any differently under, perhaps, Speaker Boehner, who's in the news this week for a different reason? And, I guess, a second question to that just on Zika, would you be willing to accept less than $1.9 billion -- I know that there have been talks on the Senate side about just north of $1 billion -- if it meant swifter action to address the public health crisis?

Leader Pelosi. Well, first of all, you don't give away your leverage. If people say it's half a loaf. It's not half a loaf. It's half a shoe. You just can't function that way. In other words, do we have a public health issue? It's global. It's growing. It's dangerous. It's dangerous to children, expectant moms, and to our whole population. So why are we ignoring what we need to do? What scientific basis do these people have to say I'll take half a shoe and see how I hobble around on that rather than getting the job done?

So, we believe that there should be a supplemental, emergency supplemental, that funds a full justification, the $1.9 billion, that also addresses Flint and addresses the opioids. And we're making good progress on the opioids authorization bill, but there's no money in there, and so we really need to have some money. Otherwise, it's going to be coming out of what, maternal health and child health? Where will they get the money? That's one of their suggestions. So we do need the supplemental, and it also gives us leverage for the other initiatives that we need. We need a challenge to the conscience of our country, is what is happening in Flint, Michigan, and what are we doing but just a little here, a little there maybe, but not really recognizing the responsibility at the Federal level that we have and demanding matching funds from the State level as well.

So I don't think that's the way to pose it, that why don't we just take some -- we're taking money from Ebola, and then saying we're going to do -- there's something wrong with this picture. Do they not believe in science? Do they not believe in evidence? Do they not believe in the fact that this is a public health challenge? And that's why yesterday we had a press conference -- was that yesterday? It seems like a long time ago now. Yes, it was -- with Senator Reid and the leadership of the House and Senate saying fund, fully fund, Zika. And then when we come back, sadly, we'll have to continue this later instead of having it being done now, we will have a Steering and Policy meeting which will address the Zika crisis that we're in, and once again, put on the record the justification for the money that is there so that the Republicans cannot say, well, we just don't know, we haven't seen why we need it.

No. The evidence has been presented to them over and over again. Clearly we have to present it in a way that the public sees what the evidence is and that it is well known to the Republicans and Congress. This shouldn't even be an issue. This shouldn't even be anything that we're talking Democrats and Republicans. This should be something that is so clear, so self-evident. There's a public health menace. There is a crisis. We have a responsibility to protect the people from it. Do your job, Congress. One more question?

Q: Senator Sanders' lone supporter, Senator Merkley, told my colleague that if Bernie Sanders doesn't have a path after the final contest in your home State, he should drop out and start to work on uniting the party. Do you agree with that?

Leader Pelosi. I'm sorry. Somebody told one of your colleagues?

Q: Senator Merkley, who backs Senator Sanders, said Bernie Sanders should drop out if he doesn't have a path to the nomination.

Leader Pelosi. And when was the time table for this?

Q: After the final contest in your home State of California. So I'm just wondering, do you agree? Do you see any path for Sanders?

Leader Pelosi. The election has to play itself out, and I have never, in my whole political career, which is a long one, ever said to anybody you shouldn't run, and you should drop out. That's just not the way it is. They have their own call to service, their own purpose. They have their supporters, and they have their own timetable, and that timetable is one that I hope will serve to elect a Democratic President of the United States, whoever she may be, and to also help elect a Democratic Congress, Governor, State Houses, and the rest.

And so that timetable is not one that comes from the outside, but from inside the campaign and inside the person, the candidate. I'm so very proud of both of our candidates for President, the dignity that they have brought to their presentations. The differentiation that they have is very slim compared to the chasm between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to meeting the needs of the American people, and I respect the broadening of the universe of participation of young people that Bernie Sanders has brought to this election cycle. Yes, sir?

Q: Madam Leader, do you have a response to the Donald Trump's comments that Hillary Clinton is playing the women's card?

Leader Pelosi. You know, you all want to talk politics all the time when we come here. Let me just be very clear about this. I don't know what card he's playing, what, the joker's card? That doesn't even count in a deck of cards. But here's the thing; I do not think that anybody should campaign on the basis -- when I was running for leadership myself, the last thing I could say to my colleagues was you should support me because I'm a woman. It's not a winning message. The winning message is you should support me because I think I can do the best job and here's what I can do, and I think that's what Hillary Clinton is presenting.

Perhaps some of the Republicans do not recognize a skilled leader when they see one, but that's exactly what Hillary Clinton is, and her message, her call for support is about being the best prepared person to serve as President of the United States. If I were -- I haven't made an endorsement in the race, but I do recognize, as I said of Bernie, the contribution he made to drawing many more people, young people, who are civic minded, community oriented, but not politically interested; now they are because of Bernie Sanders, and that's real leadership to inspire. A leader has to have a vision, judgment, and knowledge, a plan on how to go forward, and to communicate that to the public in a way that inspires. And I am so confident that whoever our nominee is, whoever that is, whatever the gender, will be able to do that.

Elections are about the future. They are not about slogans like this. So what is it that the two candidates when they emerge have to say about the future? And I know that it would be a wonderful, glorious thing, to have a woman President of the United States, but that is not the credential to be elected or to have the confidence of the American people. The credential is your leadership, your knowledge, your judgment, your vision, your strategic thinking, your connection to the American people. I don't know that in the history of our country, there are probably few people compare with the preparation that Hillary Clinton has to walk into that Oval Office.

So that may be cute, you know, that kind of thing, but the fact that Trump is saying, and that may play in certain quarters, but the fact is, the responsibility we have in a campaign is to elevate the debate to a place that, again, honors the vision our Founders had for this country, respects the sacrifice our men and women make to keep us this great country, the freedom we enjoy, but also addresses the aspirations of our children.

I think this is going to be a very interesting year. I hope the debate will be elevated to a place like that so that when the next President takes office, it will be with an understanding in the public as to what the legitimate differences are that we have between us, between the parties, and where the public comes down on those issues, but not about any cute statements about -- I don't even know which one you're referring to, because he's made so many statements.

Q: He said that Hillary Clinton was playing the woman's card.

Leader Pelosi. Oh, the woman's card, yeah, that. I think Hillary Clinton is playing the experience card. Thank you all very much.

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