Press Conference with House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA); House Minority Leader Boehner (R-OH); and Treasury Secretary Paulson Subject: Economic Stimulus Package

Statement

Press Conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH); and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
Subject: Economic Stimulus Package

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SPEAKER PELOSI: Good afternoon.

Today the leadership of the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis is responding to the weakening economy and the urgent economic needs of the American people. The American people have known for a long time that they were coming on hard times. Living paycheck to paycheck, they knew that something needed to be done to strengthen our economy.

We were very pleased last Friday, in a conference call with the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House and Senate and with the secretary, that the president expressed the need for a stimulus package. We went to work right away in a bipartisan way to meet the criteria of being timely, targeted and temporary to turn the economy around. That was our standard. The agreements that Mr. Boehner and I and our respective caucuses have meet those criteria.

I want to commend Secretary Paulson for his extraordinary leadership; his boundless, it seems, patience; and I hope he has more, because there's more to come.

I believe that the package that we are putting forth deserves the support of members of Congress, and we'll bring it to the floor at the earliest date to -- so that those rebate checks can be in the mail.

First and foremost, the stimulus package will put money in the hands of hardworking Americans. This is a middle class initiative to strengthen the middle class and to those who aspire to be in the middle class. It will be in the form of tax rebates and a child tax credits. The benefits to the middle class and the working -- and those, again, who aspire to that and who need the money will spend the money. I've always said that what we needed to do is to put money in the hands of those who will spend it right away, to inject demand into the economy, to help create jobs, to help turn around the economy. We also have included immediate relief for homeowners who are at the risk of losing their homes because of the prime -- subprime crisis. This bipartisan -- there are other initiatives that relate to helping the business community in a targeted way and in a timely way and in a temporary way to help spur the economy.

This bipartisan package should be acted upon rapidly and can help alleviate the economic pain felt by millions of Americans. On a phone call we just had with the president, I told the president that I hope that we can use this model of bipartisanship to work together on unemployment insurance and Medicaid and other issues that spring from a weakened economy, and should that economy continue to worsen, we will not hesitate to advance additional legislation -- speaking for myself -- to respond to the economic pressures affecting the American people.

Again, I thank Leader Boehner for his -- the bipartisan spirit that he brought to the table. I can't say that I'm totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy, and if it does not, then there will be more to come. I want to also commend my members of the House Democratic Caucus. The chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Rangel, who again is not totally pleased with the package as well. His extraordinary leadership making this compromise possible. Mr. -- Chairman Barney Frank also was very instrumental, and with his leadership, we were able to include in the package the GSA and FHA changes that give some comfort, I hope, to America's homeowners.

With that, I'm very pleased to yield the floor to -- with gratitude and appreciation, to the Republican leader of the House, Mr. Boehner.

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Q Madame Speaker, what displeased you about the package?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, let's -- what I always say about these packages, let us praise it for what it does, not disrespect it for what it does not. This -- I think this is a remarkable package, because it is about putting money in the hands of America's working families. It is there to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and to turn this economy around, and that is what is important about it. It is timely, it is targeted, and it is temporary, and it was done in record time since our conversation with the president -- and again, in a bipartisan way.

(Cross-talk.)

Q (Off mike.) What if the Senate says, we're going to do this bill, pick it apart, pick it apart, sends it back and says, take it or leave it? What -- (off mike.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, here's the thing. A couple of days ago, some of you were present in the room when we met with Secretary Paulson. We met with Secretary Paulson -- Leader Boehner and I and Leader Hoyer, as well as Mitch -- Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Harry Reid. At that meeting, in your presence, they both said -- Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid said, we want -- we defer to the House. Well, of course, the Constitution does as well. But nonetheless, the recognition that this bill had to begin in the House. What their point was, instead of the four of us trying to find agreement, let's see what bipartisanship you can come up with in the House to send us something that we can act upon. This is the beginning of the legislative process. They will certainly act upon it, and we will act upon that.

But I hope that the commitment that we are showing here to do it in a bipartisan way --and the fact that there had to be some give on either side -- doesn't mean that we've exhausted all the remedies that we think will help the economy. It just means that in this package, at this time, this is the approach that we are taking: help for the middle class, assistance to business for job creation, and helping those who are concerned about the subprime crisis, the mortgage crisis in our country. So they will most likely act upon it, but I think the strength of our bipartsuansip in this announcement today will mean a lot to them. But far be it for me to ever predict what the Senate may produce with their very senatorial rules.

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