Press Conference With Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Press Conference

PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI (D-CA)
SUBJECT: "TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS AND SONS TO WORK DAY"

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SPEAKER PELOSI: Good afternoon. Because there are so many votes on the floor and the ceremony, the beautiful ceremony in the Rotunda, went longer, my apologies to you for running some minutes late.

Because we have so many special guests here today -- our children, our future -- I wondered if it would be okay with our members of the press if we began with our more junior members of the press, so they could be rewarded for their patience in waiting. And then we can have our fuller press conference. Is that okay with everyone?

Q Yes, that's okay.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Hearing no objection -- (chuckles) -- why don't we start with our --

Q Is there a motion to recommit --

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Laughs.) Well, that's probably going to be happening on the floor any minute.

See, you have just pulled rank, kids -- children. The members of the press have yielded to your superior place in our world, so that we can go first and take your questions.

I don't know -- some of you remember, because you've been here before, that a while -- when I became speaker, the first year I had -- the children came up and stood around me while I accepted the gavel as the first woman speaker of the House. And when I called the House to order, I said, "I call the House -- the House will be in order, for all of our children." So the next year, everybody said, "Well, the children come up again." Well, when I went to the floor to be sworn in as speaker, so many of the children came over to me and said, "I'm going to come up to the podium again this year" -- (chuckles). So I was excited at that, to be honored by the presence of so many children again. And it has become a tradition, whether it was intended to be that or not.

So here we are again, some kids who are here -- started as "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," now "Take Your Children to Work Day." Whoa, we've got a big crowd here!

I want to welcome you here, and the first thing I want to do is to hear your questions. Who has the first question? You have a -- yes, ma'am.

Q What's your favorite law in all you've --

SPEAKER PELOSI: You have to tell your name. You have to tell your -- say your name.

Q Avery.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Avery has a -- the first question.

Q What's your favorite law in all that you've passed?

SPEAKER PELOSI: My favorite law that I passed? Well, this year, we passed a law at the beginning of the Congress that made -- that made it possible for 11 million children in America, 11 million children in America, to have access to health care, so they could be healthy, so they could have proper diet and exercise and proper attention if they are sick. That's my favorite bill starting this year. And President Obama has already signed it into law, and it's now taking effect. Thank you for your question.

Yes, ma'am.

Q My name's Deanna (sp).

SPEAKER PELOSI: Deanna (sp)?

Q Deanna (sp).

Q Deanna Manikoff (sp). (Laughs.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh. (Laughs.) And what is your question?

Q (Off mike) -- I have -- (off mike) -- teachers and --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Do you want to come over here and ask the -- your question, please?

Q Yeah.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Want to come up here?

Q I have new teachers from the old school I had.

SPEAKER PELOSI: You have a new teacher from the old school. (Laughter.) Is she nice?

Q Yes.

SPEAKER PELOSI: All right. That's just -- thank heavens.

Did you have a question about that?

Q Mm-mm. (Negative.) (Laughter.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, I'm glad -- then everything's okay! Let's hear -- that's a great question. Thank you! (Applause.)

And let's hear -- and I thought our first question was very good too, what was my favorite bill, my favorite law. (Applause.)

How about a -- one of the young gentlemen who is joining us. Do you have a question?

Q No.

SPEAKER PELOSI: No. Okay. (Laughter.)

And does anybody over here? Yes, sir.

Q (Off mike.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Tell us your name.

Just -- why don't you stand up so everybody can hear your question.

Q Tucker.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Tucker has a question.

Q What does the speaker do?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Tucker's question is what does the speaker do. (Laughter.) That was -- they're calling all my colleagues so they can hear this answer as well.

The speaker of the House -- and I'm honored to serve in that position -- is a very high position. It's the president, the vice president, and the next-highest official in our country is the speaker of the House. And the -- what the speaker does, the speaker of the House, is to manage the House, to bring bills to the floor so we can have a debate and pass the laws that make the future better for people.

So it's about bringing bills to the floor.

It's about appointing members to committees, because they're all -- in Congress, there are many committees that deal with health or education or environment or our armed services. And so the speaker appoints a -- by and large, makes recommendations for those appointments.

And the speaker speaks for her party in the Congress, even though she is the speaker of the entire House.

Would you like to come to my office and see the speaker's office? You want to do that after this meeting? If you want to, you can. And then we can look out over the speaker's balcony where you can see the -- all of -- not all, but a good view of Washington, D.C.

But it's a great honor to serve as speaker. And they haven't had a woman up until now. And so that is a special -- a special privilege, to make laws, to organize the Congress and to speak for our point of view.

Thank you, Tucker (ph). You have another question? Okay, one and then two. You want to look at the cameras? (Laughs.)

Q (Off mike.) When you were a child, what kind of job did you want to do when you grew up?

SPEAKER PELOSI: When I was a child, what kind of job did I want to do when I grew up? I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to be a mom, which I think still is -- being a parent is the most important job of all. And that's what I looked forward to. When my children were grown, then I decided to go from being a mom only to being a member of Congress.

And I hope many moms in our country will consider that as they finish raising their families or as their children begin to grow up, will consider participating in government, because we need more moms. We need more moms in government.

Yes, sir. This young man had a question.

Q (Off mike.) How do people keep -- earn their money?

SPEAKER PELOSI: How would the people --

Q Earn their money?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Which people, dear?

Q Everyone in the world?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Everyone in the world. How do people earn their money?

Q Yeah.

SPEAKER PELOSI: They work -- (laughs, laughter) -- just as your parents work.

It is a very important thing in our society that we reward work. And when people work hard, they get paid for that. And hopefully they get paid enough to raise their families. And that's one of the things we do here, is to try to make sure that people are able to make enough to raise their families. Some people make a lot of money. And some people don't make so much money. We just want to make sure that they make enough money.

Yes, ma'am.

Q What's harder, being speaker of the House or a mother?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Okay -- (inaudible) -- has a very important question for all of us to contemplate. What is harder, being speaker of the House or being a mother? (Laughs.) Do the moms want to weigh in on this? (Laughter.)

Well, I think there is a tremendous, tremendous responsibility in being a mom. You just never want to have any regrets about decisions that you make for your children. In terms of the work that is required, it's every minute of the day. It is constant. It is rewarding. It is challenging.

It requires you to be a diplomat, so you're keeping people talking to each other, a disciplinarian, so you're keeping order, an organizer, so that you're managing your home and your family and all the rest and your children. And it takes a lot of skill to be a mom.

Now, since you asked, I wrote a book on this subject. (Laughs.) It's called "Know Your Power." And it's my message to America's daughters that moms, in running their homes and raising their families, develop -- are forged in such a way, develop skills that will serve them well, in any endeavor that they pursue. And for me, I saw being in politics as an extension of being a mom. I could help my children and other children in a more expanded way.

So the answer to your question is, it's a much more difficult challenge because it's much more important, to those children, to be a mom.

Would the moms agree to that, in terms of your own situation? (Applause.) Let's hear it from the moms. (Chuckles.)

Yes, ma'am?

Q How did you get -- I mean, my name is Anne (sp). How did you get your job?

SPEAKER PELOSI: How did I get my job? Well, there are two versions of this story. (Laughter.)

(Chuckles.) An inside version and an outside version.

The outside is that the person who is the speaker is the speaker because her party, mine being the Democratic Party, has the most seats in the Congress. And so in order to have a speaker of my party, we had to campaign all over America, win elections.

You know how people win elections, how Barack Obama became president. Well, people become members of Congress by being elected.

And so when we won more Democrats than Republicans, that enabled me to run for speaker here, where the majority party, the ones with most votes, elect the speaker of the House.

I think we have time for one more, unless there's a compelling question from someone -- yes?

Q My name is Jackson.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Jackson.

Q Who do you like better, the Baltimore Orioles or the San Francisco Giants? (Laughter.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Laughs.) Did everyone hear the question? (Laughter.) Who do I like better, the Baltimore Orioles or the San Francisco Giants?

When I was -- Jackson, when I was young, a teen -- a young teenager, older than you are, but still a young teenager, my father was the mayor of Baltimore. And he brought the Baltimore Orioles to Baltimore. They didn't have a Major League Baseball team. So the Baltimore Orioles have always been very, very dear to my heart because my father brought them to -- he, working with the business community and others, but he was the mayor who brought them to Baltimore.

So they're always very dear to me, and the team that I always cheered for -- until I started representing the San Francisco Giants in the Congress of the United States. (Laughter.)

(Laughs.) And the San Francisco Giants are now the team that I -- if they were playing against each other, it would be a very hard day for me, but I would have to root for my home team, which is the San Francisco Giants.

I also take an interest in the Nationals. And none of us is doing that well, are we? (Laughs, laughter.)

The Orioles, the Giants, the Nationals -- and I also root for the California teams, the A's and the -- my family gets a little upset about the Dodgers. And unless they're playing against the Giants, I'm okay with the Dodgers.

But we have a very sports-oriented household. I had five older brothers when I was little, so we watched sports all the time, whatever it was -- basketball, football, baseball -- and we went to the games because my father also brought the Colts to Baltimore, which used to be the team in Baltimore before an unfortunate incident a number of years ago. But now we have the Ravens, and we're proud of them in Baltimore. But the San Francisco 49ers would be my team over the Ravens.

So in any event, the -- we are intensely interested in every game, whatever it is, all the time. And we have season tickets on all -- to all of them. And we are very involved. So your question is one that is a hard one for me, but -- San Francisco Giants.

It looks like we have a few more questions. Yes, ma'am.

Q My name is Anna Alston (ph). And have your kids ever -- opinions ever given you impressions on bills you want to enforce?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Ah. Very interesting question. Did my kids ever give me impressions about bills that I want to enforce? Certainly, they do. Some of my kids are -- one of -- my daughter and son-in-law back there are teachers. So they're very interested in legislation that relates to education. They're especially interested in children with special needs, children with disabilities. So they're constantly pushing for more in that regard.

My grandchildren are now also making suggestions. They want to know all the time what Congress is doing to help poor people. What are we doing to help poor people? That's the question that they call me about and have suggestions about. And, of course, all of them are interested in the environment and global warming, whether it's my children or my grandchildren, because they are learning -- the grandchildren are learning about it in school and are learning about it at home. And they're waiting to see what we do about that.

But all the issues you would think -- education and health care and global warming and children with special needs and poor people.

Okay, this really will be the last one. Okay. Oh, we have two last ones, two young men.

Q (Off mike.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh, you have a question, too? I'll go -- we've got to go -- I'll go faster with my answers. Okay.

Q Okay. My name is J.C. Rice (ph). Why did you join them and not us? And by "them" I mean the Democrats and by "us" I mean the Republicans. (Laughter.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Laughs.) That's a very interesting characterization. And what news organization are you associated with? (Laughs.)

I'm a Democrat. I was born in the Democratic Party. I have to admit that right up front. But I have never been disappointed in it because, as I mentioned, the issues that our family cares about are issues about fairness in terms of pay and how we treat poor people, and how we give people opportunity, how we deal with health care, how we deal with education and how we deal with protecting God's beautiful creation, the environment.

And so I believe that the Democratic Party has taken the lead on these issues.

But let me say this. I'm delighted that you associate yourself with a political party. I think -- I wish more people would. And I hope that the next generation will take back the Republican Party for the -- the grand old party that it used to be.

It is -- it is important for us to have a strong Republican Party. Some people say to me, "I want you to meet my friend, but she's a Republican," and I'll say, "I'm glad she's some --" you know, "I'm glad that she's interested." It's very important that people take -- participate, and one way to do that is to identify with party. Some people don't identify with party, but they're still interested, and that's good, too.

Yes, ma'am?

Q (Off mike) -- as you're a grandma, how do you spend time with your grandkids?

SPEAKER PELOSI: How do I spend time with my grandkids? Well, my grandkids live all over the country. I have two in New York; three in Texas; two in Arizona; and now a new baby, Isabella, born to my daughter Christine, in San Francisco. I finally have one at home. And we have certain holidays that we spend together. Fourth of July, that week is very important to us. Thanksgiving is very important to us. The inauguration of Barack Obama was very important to us, in terms of bringing the entire family together.

And I will visit them. One of them is making her communion on -- no, one of them is making his communion the first weekend in May. Another one is making her communion the third weekend in May. So we have a lot -- we'll have -- we just had a baby in San Francisco. We have all kinds of family events that bring us together. But two weeks of the year, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July, are our big times together.

And when I'm with them, I sit on the floor. Most of the time, I'm sitting on the floor with them, playing games and the rest, or reading. We dance a lot. We watch sports. We go to the games. The little boys -- all of them, the boys and the little girl are interested in baseball especially. So we do the things that other families do. It's the most fun of all. It's the most fun of all -- as is being with all of you today.

Did you have a question? What's your question? You want to stand up so everybody can see you? And tell us your name.

Q My name is Charlie. And why do you have chocolate, because you have flags?

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Chuckles.) His name is Charlie, and he wants to know why I have chocolate because --?

Q You have flags.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh, because I have flags. Chocolate and flags -- what could be more natural? (Laughs, laughter.) I think Charlie is hinting around that it's time -- (laughter) -- it's time to give out the candy! Okay.

So somebody had the idea that these are -- these are coins of chocolate with the seal of the Speaker's Office. So let's pass that around. And then, these are actually the coins of the Speaker's Office.

So would you rather have the coin, or would you rather have the chocolate? (Laughs, laughter.) Fortunately, you don't have to choose. Fortunately.

I saw one young man had a hand up already.

Q What teams do you want for the playoffs?

SPEAKER PELOSI: What time did I --?

Q What teams do you want to make the playoffs?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh, on the professional. Oh, you know what? After it -- you know, after it's -- the home team is not in the game, I just like good, competitive basketball.

But I tell you this: On Monday, I was in Florida, and I had breakfast with Alonzo Mourning. Alonzo Mourning used to play for the Miami Heat. In fact, this past year, his number was retired. It was the first number to be retired for the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, the night before or over that weekend, the Miami Heat did not do well in the game. So I didn't bring up the subject. (Laughs, laughter.)

But I just love professional basketball. I love to go to the games. I've sat sometimes under the basket, and -- it's a very physical sport. But I -- if there's any game that I'm watching that I'd like to get out there on the court myself, it's basketball. Of course, we all -- of course, we're engrossed with the NCAA, with the March Madness. That's so much fun as well. It's a long way from half-court basketball, double dribble that I used to play at the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore, Maryland.

But, you remember when we were with Alonzo?

Q (Off mike.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: The Miami -- Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz is here with her son, was there too. And I thought I was going to be able to congratulate him on what the Heat had done the night before. But that was not the case.

You like basketball?

Q Yeah.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Yeah, I like basketball, too. I like to play.

Okay. So let's pass this candy around and we'll get up to some -- we'll see if the questions we have next measure up to the questions of the children.

Thank you.

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