Press Conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on SCHIP Legislation

Interview

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SPEAKER PELOSI: Good morning.

This morning, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our friends in California, with the firefighters risking their lives and limbs to protect others. And our thoughts are with and prayers are with those who have lost so much.

I'm pleased that President Bush yesterday signed the designation for major disaster. He had earlier signed an emergency designation but, obviously, the damage exceeded, the ravaging of the fires exceeded the emergency designation, so we moved on to major disaster, and I thank him and applaud him for that. Congress is committed to working with the president in a bipartisan way to supply whatever is needed to help California recover. It is the American way.

Today on the floor of the House, we will be meeting the needs of the American people in another way. Today we will consider bipartisan legislation to insure 10 million children across America. It's really a great day for the Congress. Once again, a strong bipartisan majority will speak up for America's children. This legislation has the support of the American people. It has been advocated for by Democratic and Republican governors across the country, everyone who deals with children -- you've heard me say this over and over again -- everyone who deals with children and cares about children, from AARP to AMA to the YWCA and everything alphabetically in between, the Catholic Hospitals Association, Families USA, the list goes on and on.

I'm so proud that in our advocacy effort here last week, Easter Seals combed the Hill. Hundreds of volunteers for Easter Seals came to lobby members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in support of the legislation. On the day of the vote last Thursday, the March of Dimes had hundreds of representatives on Capitol Hill to advocate for the legislation. There is unity in the public. This is a deeply held value of the American people. It transcends the word of issue or legislation. It is an ethic, it is a value that a great country cares for its children.

I'm hopeful that those who previously opposed the bill, and they put forth very clearly in a letter to me the concerns that they have, I hope that they will now reconsider their votes. I think that is possible, because we have responded to their concerns. We have removed all doubt that the legislation does not apply to people making over 300 percent of poverty. That was one issue -- who benefits? Another beneficiary issue was the issue of undocumented people in our country. We thought the law was clear, we made it even clearer and harder for anyone who is not a citizen or a legal resident in the United States to receive benefits who qualifies for the benefits. And in terms of adults, in our bill we had phased out adults over two years; now they'll be phased out over one year if they are adults without children. The reason adults are in the program anyway, it was thought by some governors that in order to attract the children, you attracted the adults. But if that's the clarity and the priority that our colleagues wish to place on that then we were pleased to do so. As a mother of five, however, I still want those governors to have the option to be able to cover pregnant women. Because if we're talking about the health of our children, the health of pregnant women is essential to a good, healthy start for our children.

Next week we'll continue to care for the safety, the health of our children by addressing issues that relate to food safety, safety of their toys and medicines that our children receive and that issue that is on the minds of millions of Americans.

With that, I'd be pleased to take any questions you might have.

Q Madame Speaker, three moderate Republicans who have voted with you on the SCHIP bill and are talking to their colleagues say that if you held the vote until next week, then you would get enough Republicans for an override. But they're not confident you'd get it today. Why are you holding the vote today?

SPEAKER PELOSI: We're holding the vote today, because it fits into our legislative calendar. We have a situation where we pass it today, the Senate passes it next week, it goes to the president. God willing, the president will sign the bill. But if he does not, then we need another period of time to pass it. And it's essential for us to take up the bill to fit it into the time before Congress adjourns for Thanksgiving. We're certainly not leaving here without having this issue resolved.

Q (Inaudible) -- giving Republicans an excuse not to vote for the bill by saying they have a disaster on their hands?

SPEAKER PELOSI: If the Republicans believe in SCHIP as they say they do, and their concerns that they expressed to us are legitimate, and I trust that they are, then they won't be looking for an excuse to vote against the bill.

Q Madame Speaker, Chairman Rangel today --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Excuse me, I was just recognizing him.

Q Madame Speaker, did you consult or attempt to consult or with the White House in drafting this bill?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, we've asked the president on a number of occasions if we can visit with him to talk about the legislation, but he was not receptive to that nor has he made any overtures to us to talk about it.

Q Madame Speaker, Chairman Rangel, as you know, unveiled his plan for tax reform this morning. Is that plan the Democratic vision of what, of how the tax structure should be changed going forward?

SPEAKER PELOSI: The Democratic vision of how the tax structure should be going forward relates to fairness, it relates to simplification and the reform necessary to do that. It's about tax cuts to the middle class, and that is the focus of his legislation or his proposal. It's about keeping America competitive, and that's what's on the business side of his proposal. So our view is of tax cuts for the middle class, fairness and simplicity in our tax code and initiatives to keep us competitive.

Q Just to follow up -- so his specific plan is a plan that's endorsed by Democratic leadership?

SPEAKER PELOSI: No, his -- well, I certainly support his plan. His plan will now, of course, be presented to our Democratic Caucus. But these are issues which we have discussed over time. And of course, in our caucus, we'll have our usual, exciting, dynamic give- and-take on the subject. But the tax cuts for the middle class are a principle of the Democratic Party, and they are endorsed in his legislation. Keeping America competitive is a priority for the Democrats, and that is an important part of the legislation with the corporate tax rate reduction to keep us competitive. It's all in keeping with our bigger picture of our innovation agenda to keep America number one. And that, you know, revolves around our democracy, a strong and vibrant middle class which is essential to a democracy, the strength of our economy which is essential to our democracy as well.

(Cross talk.)

Q -- if we could just stay on task. So short term no, there will be an extenders bill coming to the floor?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Yes.

Q And when might that be?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I'd have to check with Mr. Hoyer to see when that fits in, because we don't have that many legislative days left. That's why we have to go today with this legislation. But we will be taking up a patch for AMT and the extenders bill before we leave.

Q But Rangel wants that patch to comply with PAYGO rules.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Yes.

Q And he said this morning that he has heard that the Senate might not opt to do that, and he's prepared to fight them on that. Will you and the other House leaders stand with him on that?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Absolutely. PAYGO is a defining principle of the House Democrats. We put it into our rules when we can into the majority in January, and I would like to see it beyond our rules to become the law of the land, and that's something we're working on. But in the meantime, we will not heap mountains of debt onto our children. And that's what's important about the legislation we have today. The president says he wants to abbreviate the program and not pay for it. Well, we don't want to say to our children only half of you will be covered and by the way, all of you will be carrying this debt into your future, because the bill isn't paid for. That's why this is a healthy piece of legislation for children's health. It includes 10 million children, it reaches out to as many as who are eligible, and it is paid for.

Q Madame Speaker, about a half dozen of your Republican colleagues from southern California, including Chairman Dreier and others, wrote to you last night asking you not to hold the SCHIP vote today because they want to be in their districts, you know, with the fires going on. Did you respond to them? Or why did you not honor that concern?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I got their letter very late last night. This legislation was scheduled to be on the floor today.

But let me say as one who's had the privilege of representing the Golden State of California for 20 years and who was in Los Angeles on Thursday just as all of this was starting up, I saw the magnitude of the challenge that they face there, and they are right to be in their districts, and we are right to proceed.

It might interest you to know that when I spoke to Governor Schwarzenegger a couple of days ago, it was Tuesday, and congratulated him on the excellent response of California's emergency response team which is a gold standard in the country, I believe, and thanked him for his leadership and said that at the appropriate time, we would come with some of the appropriators and decision-makers who can help meet the needs of California following this disaster. And when we had that conversation, the governor then said, how are we doing on SCHIP? Because while, you know, 1 million people have been evacuated from their homes, 500,000 acres had burned, it's a natural disaster of great magnitude, still we need to pass this legislation, because 1.2 million California children will benefit from this legislation. If the vote would be decided by who's here and who is not, that might be one thing. But the vote does not. And so we can multitask as a Congress. They can attend to the needs of their constituents, and we can carry on the work of meeting the needs of America's children -- to be specific, 1.2 million children in California.

Q Is there something specific that you have in mind as far as appropriations to address this situation or prevent further situations like this going forward?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, a couple of things. First of all, the emergency designation had a cap on what the federal government could do for California. The major disaster designation removes that cap, so we're pleased with that. There's a fund from which this money comes, and we want to make sure that that is replenished so that other disasters in the country have sufficient funds in place to help with that.

In California, as I said, we're very proud of our emergency response operation and hope that it will serve as a model for others. In San Diego, you know, they've (reversed ?) 911 so they could evacuate people and the rest. But we have to take a look at the landscape -- there's droughts in the South and these wildfires in California -- and see what decisions we are making environmentally and energy-wise that might mitigate for some of this damage.

Q Madame Speaker, how would you describe the federal response to the fire so far? Does it show improvement since Katrina?

SPEAKER PELOSI: The governor tells me that all of the resources that could be available to Californians are accessible to them. He's on the scene, and I was depending on his evaluation of that, and he felt pretty confident about that. So so far, we're pleased, and especially pleased by the major disaster designation, because that opens the door to so much more. We have a big job to do, you know, as one whose district has been through an earthquake in my term in office here. So we've all had our different experiences with the natural disasters. Not all, thank God, but many of us have. You're first in the rescue and emergency response and then, you know, in the rebuild. And there will be a big challenge for the Small Business Administration, for home loans and loans for businesses and the rest, because all of it goes through the Small Business Administration. So the challenge will be next on other agencies of government. But again, they have a little time compared to the emergency response which the governor says has been appropriate.

Q And National Guard resources, have they done that?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, of course, we would like more, because many of our National Guard are not in California. But the effort seems to match the challenge that we have except for the winds. And you know, that's a very hard challenge to meet, and it's not one that we can deal with until the winds stop.

Yes, sir.

Q There are a series of sanctions being announced today against Iran. Do you think these are being done in the right measure? And do you have any concerns of anything more confrontational being undertaken by the administration?

SPEAKER PELOSI: The subject is on Iran and their sanctions that are announced today. Well, I fully support a robust diplomatic and sanction effort against Iran. Iran should not entertain any idea that they can proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon for military purposes. The president has assured me that his approach to Iran is going to be with just that robust diplomacy and sanctions. I don't see these sanctions as a predicate for more aggressive action.

Q (Inaudible.) Two questions, if I may, Madame Speaker, on Mexico and Puerto Rico.

President Bush will have announced this week a 1.4 billion (dollars) package for fighting crime in Mexico and is requesting the Congress $500 million, you know -- (inaudible). What is your position about that request and if you are going to support the President Bush announcement?

And the other question is on Puerto Rico.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I appreciate your question. And in response, let me just say I just haven't seen the president's request, what the goal of it is and the rest. We certainly want to -- the protection of the American people is the highest priority to all of us, whether it's protection of our country and our national security, protection of our neighborhoods or protection of our borders. But I haven't seen the particulars given to us by the president yet to comment on that particular package.

Q On Puerto Rico, the Natural Resources Committee approved a bill this week for Puerto Rico to start a process to end or at least to resolve its current status. What's your position about the Puerto Rican status?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I have no position. I love Puerto Rico. I went there on my honeymoon. I go back every chance I get. But I would never get involved in the argument between commonwealth statehood and independence there. That's a level of passion that we could never even possibly understand in our politics in the United States. However, I do believe in self-determination, and I knew what the bill looked like going in. I haven't seen what the bill looks like coming out. But it has strong advocates, pro and con, in our caucus, and I'll be listening carefully to all of them.

I'm going to have to go to the floor, because I have to speak now on the legislation. And when I do, I will speak with great respect for my Republican colleagues who very courageously have supported this bill all along and those who are reaching out to others to help bring us to a veto-proof majority, whether that happens today or the day of the override. I feel certain that this Congress will follow the path it has been, working in a bipartisan way for America's children, whether it was in terms of their health in terms of this bill, for education in a number of bills, including the biggest package for higher education tuition since 1944 GI Bill of Rights. Whether it's the economic security of their families, the minimum wage, the innovation agenda which I mentioned to keep good-paying jobs in the United States. Whether it's the air they breathe in terms of the energy bill that we passed that creates a healthy, safe environment for our children. Their health, their education, the economic security of their families, the air they breathe, the security of our country with H.R. 1, our homeland security bill, it's all about America's children, it's about America's families, and this Congress has acted in overwhelming bipartisan votes on behalf of those children. So in terms of bipartisanship today as in other days when we've taken these votes, the children have led the way.

Thank you all very much.

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