Photo Op Remarks by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Marc Morial, Chair, Black Leadership Forum Board - Pelosi's Meeting With The Black Leadership Forum
Photo Op Remarks by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Marc Morial, Chair, Black Leadership Forum Board - Pelosi's Meeting With The Black Leadership Forum
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MR. MORIAL: (In progress) -- it's affecting our families. It's affecting our children. It's affecting our old and our young. And we know that this is a time of great challenge, and we simply want to pledge to work with you, offer our input and support to you and your leadership team in your effort. So thank you so very much for having us today. Thank you.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you very much, Marc Morial.
And I now want to yield to a gentlemen who has already been referred to, the distinguished Democratic whip of the House of Representatives, a champion for creation of jobs and expansion of educational opportunity and ending disparities in health care --
REP. CLYBURN: Thank you, Madame --
SPEAKER PELOSI: -- Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina.
REP. CLYBURN: (Chuckles.) Thank you, Madame Speaker. Let me thank four of the members of the Black Leadership Forum for being here today, and my colleagues.
I just want to say a couple of things. We are going to be moving, starting this week, really, in the direction of trying to secure for our great nation a -- an energy policy that will, in fact, be of benefit to all of our citizens. We are going to try to do the same thing for health care.
So one of the things we want to make sure that we keep in mind -- and that is, no matter what our policy is, our country has some regional differences that must be honored. And that's why your being here is so important. The country may have a 9-percent unemployment rate, but I represent a couple of counties where -- the unemployment rate is 24 percent in Allendale, 22 percent in Marion. I represent seven historically black colleges and universities where they are seeing a dramatic drop in their financial support.
And what that is going to mean to families -- we looked along -- throughout these counties and you see what kind of impact all of this is having on people's health. And so we must come up with a policy -- a new health care plan that will in fact be of benefit to all of these people.
So the best way for us to do that is to get all of the minds at work and see can we find consensus, so that when we do in fact impose this policy on the American people, it will be -- have your support and be of great benefit.
And with that, Madame Speaker, if I may --
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you very much to our distinguished whip. He's the man who has to deliver the votes. (Laughter.) So -- (chuckles) -- he wants to make sure that every point of view has been heard and the best possible decisions are made, so he can promote that with the members.
And a very important member of the Congress of the United States, the House of Representatives, is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a member of the Appropriations Committee, a Californian -- some call her the conscience of the Congress -- we're delighted she's just such a leader on jobs, environmental justice, social justice, economic justice, Congresswoman -- Chairwoman Barbara Lee.
REP. LEE: Thank you very much, Madame Speaker. And first let me just thank you for your leadership, and also on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, thank you for ensuring that each and every legislative effort or policy that we're debating includes members of the Congressional Black Caucus, our views. Whether it's health care, whether it's energy, we have a clear position on these issues. And the speaker has been so instrumental in making sure that those issues were front and center in our debate.
Also to our whip, Mr. Clyburn, I just have to thank him for all of the help, as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus but also as our whip, for making sure that again our agenda, which is of course your agenda, is an agenda for the country, receives the type of support it receives.
And for the members of the Black Leadership Forum, I just have to thank you so much for your work on the economic recovery package. Marc, you were so instrumental, with our speaker and Mr. Clyburn, Congressman Bobby Scott, all of you, in helping to ensure that no community was left behind in that recovery package. And so I have to thank you for the hard work and the tenacity and perseverance that you waged to make sure that this package was as good as it was, and it was an excellent package. So thank you again. Thank you, Madame Speaker, for this opportunity.
SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you. Thank you, Madame Chair.
Chairwoman Lee acknowledged that were also joined by Congressman Bobby Scott, a great civil rights leader in the Congress. (Applause.) (You're ?) all great civil leaders, but I do want to acknowledge Reverend Jesse Jackson is with us as well. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
And (you ?) have important work to do, because this legislation on health care has to be about, again, removing disparities and making sure that it is relevant to the lives of every American and addressing the concerns of a Congressional Black Caucus and the people that we all represent and then the environmental justice, as we go forward with the energy bill.
These issues are connected. They are health issues, when we talk about environmental justice. So it's about jobs. It's about health care. It's about education. It's about your agenda. It's about its relevance to the day-to-day life of the American people.
And as Mr. Morial said, our people are hurting. We really must go forward in a way that lifts them up. And this meeting will be in furtherance of reaching that goal.
So I thank all of the members of the Black Leadership Forum, for being with us today, and thank the press for coming by to say hello. Thank you all. Bye-bye.
END.
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