Press Conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Subject: Enrollment Ceremony for the SCHIP Program
Interview
PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REP.S NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) AND SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID (D-NV) SUBJECT: ENROLLMENT CEREMONY FOR THE SCHIP PROGRAM
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SPEAKER PELOSI: Good morning. I'm absolutely delighted to welcome our very special guests who are here today -- Malik (sp), who does not need a microphone. (Laughs.)
Nicole Fields (sp) is a mother of three from Richmond, Virginia, and she's joined here with her son Malik (sp), age 2, and he has with him Elmo. Malik (sp) is an asthmatic, and that is why SCHIP is very, very important and critical for Malik (sp) and his family.
Also with us from Richmond, Virginia, is Deborah Webster (sp), who's the mother of Carla (sp), age 10, and she has also brought her niece, Mariah (sp), age 9. Both Carla (sp) and Mariah (sp) receive health care under the SCHIP Program. These children are why we are here today to sign this important legislation.
Before I go any further, I know Senator Reid would like to introduce his special guests who are here today.
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SPEAKER PELOSI: All right. Now, some of you may recall, we had the Frost family here on Tuesday as we were bringing the SCHIP legislation to the floor. That day, you met Gemma, and today her brother Graeme -- he was in school that day -- and their mother, Bonnie -- they were in a serious automobile accident, and SCHIP was a lifesaver for them.
And as I said, these children are why we are here. They are why this Congress came together in a bipartisan way in overwhelming agreement on this legislation.
Joined by Leader Reid, Chairman Dingell -- thank you for your leadership, Chairman Dingell -- Chairman Baucus -- thank you, Senator Baucus, for your tremendous leadership as well; and Senator Rockefeller, whose participation was essential to our success.
I also want to applaud the great leadership and courage of Senator Grassley and Senator Hatch and their contribution to the success in the Senate, but I'll defer to the distinguished Senate leader on that score to speak further.
This legislation received a strong bipartisan vote this week in the House and in the Senate, and it will provide health benefits to 10 million children in America. It is supported by more than 300 organizations from AARP to YMCA and everything in between, alphabetically, age-wise, generationally, geographically and profession-wise. It is endorsed by 43 of our nation's governors, both Democrats and Republicans, and this bipartisan bill is fully paid for.
I hope the president will reconsider his veto threat as this bipartisan legislation, indeed nonpartisan, as the support shows. The tide is going in a different way than a presidential veto would reflect. It's with great friendship that I reached out to the president this morning to say that I was still praying that he would have a change of heart and bind this legislation. I think I have to pray a little harder, but I will not give up.
The president should sign this legislation for 10 million reasons, the 10 million children who need the health care that this bill will provide, and I will sign the bill after we hear from Senator Reid.
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SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you, Leader Reid, for your extraordinary leadership in the success of this legislation in the Senate yesterday. Using your wash rag analogy, I want to commend my chairman again, Mr. Dingell. His knowledge of these issues is encyclopedic and unsurpassed. His wisdom on the subject is a benefit to the Congress and the people of the United States.
He and Charlie Rangel, who is also a champion for children in that country, made many, many, many concessions to the Senate position. They did not concede on principle but on number. And I'm very proud of the spirit of compromise that they brought to this debate, to achieve what our chairman calls a very good bill. And that spirit --
SEN. REID: Madame Speaker, I didn't mention my friend, my ally, who's chairman of the Finance Committee, the work that he's done. He worked very, very hard with Grassley and the others to help us arrive at the point we are. So thank you very much.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you, Senator Baucus and Senator Rockefeller. And so --
And in that spirit of bipartisanship and in the hope that the president will not veto this bill, we are gathered here today. There are 10 million reasons why the president should sign this legislation. They are represented here by the children of America, who are with us. On their behalf, I am honored to sign the State Children's Health Insurance Program and send it to the president. (Applause.) Thank you all very much.
Is that clerk? Distinguished clerk of the House of Representatives will dispatch this important legislation for America's future to the president of the United States. Thank you, Lorraine Miller.
LORRAINE MILLER: Thank you.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you all.
SEN. REID: I guess we're supposed to take a couple questions.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Are we? It's up to you.
SEN. REID: That's what I was told.
Q I'm just wondering if indeed that you don't have the votes to overcome the veto, and there's no room for compromise, further compromise, where do you go from here to actually get a bill enacted into law?
SPEAKER PELOSI: Didn't you ask that question the other day?
Q Yeah. Yes, I did.
SPEAKER PELOSI: (Laughs.) Let me just say from the standpoint of the House, we only need 15 Republicans in order to overturn the president's veto.
I know that Senator Grassley has been calling some of those members. I know that over 300 organizations in the country, from Catholic hospitals to Families USA to AARP to American Medical Association, the Society for Pediatrics, all of those organizations will be in communication with members.
So as I told you the other day, we take it one step at a time. I think you were surprised by the size of the bipartisan vote we had in the House, and we think there is a possibility for override.
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SPEAKER PELOSI: -- but we want to stay focused on SCHIP for the moment, because then when that's over, we're going to leave -- (off mike).
Q And do you believe that there's going to be more room for further compromises?
Q Madame Speaker, Mr. Leader, I'd like to just -- I'm just wondering, as we're approaching the end of the year, beginning of next year, on this issue, do you think the presidential campaign -- do you think the president candidates can help you move the ball and build support on this issue, and also on Iraq?
SPEAKER PELOSI: We have not finished the legislative process on this important legislation. The significant, overwhelming bipartisan support in a vote in the United States Senate is not lost on the House members. So when we finish that process, we can talk about what comes next. But right now we're focused on making this the law -- this legislation that passed in a bipartisan way, overwhelmingly, in both houses, the law of the land. We won by 106 votes in the House of Representatives.
Q Madame Speaker, have you spoken to the president right now? (Off mike.)
SPEAKER PELOSI: In the -- since our last conversation this morning, yes, I had a conversation with the president. I called him to tell him that he was in my prayers and that I was hoping and praying that he would reconsider his decision about signing the SCHIP legislation; that if it was a question of funding, that four -- all but three Republicans in the Congress -- in the House have already voted for the tobacco tax; and if it's a question of SCHIP, he's already spoken out in favor of it. If the problem is he doesn't want to do any more, is he prepared to be the decider as to which children have it and do not?
It was a friendly, friendly conversation, and it was the hand of friendship that we both extended to each other. I told him I would continue to be praying for him. And he said he likes people who don't give up, and I said, "I know; you can identify with that."
Q Madame Speaker --
SEN. REID: Madame Speaker, if I --
SPEAKER PELOSI: I'm going to have to go.
SEN. REID: Madame Speaker, if I could say something, when my staff called Graeme to get him to do this radio address, see if he would do it, he volunteered on his own. He said 41 days of the Iraqi war would pay for what we are wanting in this bill.
Isn't that what you said?
GRAEME FROST: Mm-hmm. (Affirmative.)
SEN. REID: Yeah. So that's what this is all about.
SPEAKER PELOSI: (Chuckling.) Graeme -- (inaudible).
STAFF: (Off mike) -- everybody.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you all very much.
END.
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