Pelosi Delivers Address to National Conference of State Legislatures
Pelosi Delivers Address to National Conference of State Legislatures
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Washington, D.C.-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi addressed the National Conference of State Legislatures this afternoon. Below are her remarks:
"Thank you all for your leadership in your states and for the spirit of bipartisanship the National Conference of State Legislatures represents.
"You have come to Washington at a critical time, when Congress is engaged in its annual 'battle of the budget.'
"I want to talk with you candidly-'Leader to Leader'-about the budget and fiscal challenges we face as a nation and how we can address these challenges at the federal and state level.
"Eleanor Roosevelt once said that government 'must not be a distant thing,' and that Americans 'should know where [government] touches their daily lives [and] how every cog in the wheel of democracy . . . bears its share of responsibility for the smooth running of the entire machine.'
"For the people of your states, your debates and decisions in the state legislatures are no 'distant thing.' Your votes 'touch their daily lives' in ways both profound and permanent - in their jobs, in the education of their children, and in the health care of families and seniors. Likewise, our votes here in Washington should 'touch people's daily lives,' - the federal government must 'bear its share of responsibility.'
"Instead, as you revealed in your 'Mandate Monitor' yesterday, the federal government is making it harder for your states to prosper, with at least a $29 billion gap in federal funding to states in fiscal year 2004.
"I applaud the Chairman of your Budget and Revenue Committee, David Steil, and all of your efforts to make your members-and Members of Congress-more aware of the federal government's fiscal impact on states.
"This afternoon, I want to focus on four key areas that demand our immediate attention and where the federal and state governments must work together: homeland security, job creation and infrastructure investment, education, and health care.
"We need your help and your voice 'for the smooth running of the entire machine.'
"As elected officials, providing for public safety is not just a priority but an obligation that we have to the people we serve. Today, public safety includes homeland security. But more than two years after September 11th, we are still dangerously vulnerable to attack.
"Sadly, the President's budget ignores the needs of your states. It cuts funding for firefighters and police by hundreds of million of dollars and includes no dedicated funds to help our first responders communicate in real-time, cuts $1 billion for homeland security and bioterrorism grants, and includes no specific funds to help protect our ports and nuclear and chemical plants. As a nation, we must work together so that every high-level orange alert does not put your states further into the red.
"As we work to ensure our national security, we must grow our economy to create many more than the nearly 3 million jobs lost in the past three years.
"A proven way to create real jobs now is to invest in our national infrastructure. Every $1 billion invested in transportation and infrastructure creates 47,500 new jobs. It enhances our homeland security by protecting our ports and waterways. Investing in transportation improves our quality of life by reducing gridlock. It improves productivity by enabling us to move more products to market and people to work and school. And it helps the environment by reducing congestion and pollution.
"We cannot run a 21st century economy on crumbling 1950s roads and bridges. You can help by urging Congress to reauthorize-and urging the President to sign - a robust, bipartisan Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and to fully fund it.
"As we invest in our transportation infrastructure, we must also invest in our human infrastructure - our children.
The way to improve education is for the federal government and the states to work together. With flexibility in our approach, with money not just mandates, with full funding for No Child Left Behind, and by honoring the federal government's commitment to special education.
"We need your efforts to make higher education a priority as well. Students shouldn't have to leave college because of huge tuition increases. And when students finish college, they shouldn't be saddled with crushing debt. With your active support, we can double Pell Grants by the end of the decade to help correct this shortfall.
"Finally, we must strengthen the federal-state partnership in health care. Yet the new Medicare law deprives states of critical Medicaid savings and makes it harder for you to provide prescription drugs to 'dual eligible' low-income seniors who qualify for Medicaid and Medicare. When it comes to Medicaid, we should be reducing, not creating, barriers to receiving Medicaid funding. Shifting more costs and responsibilities to the states is not the answer. That is why Democrats in Congress are working to adjust the federal matching rate for Medicaid-the 'FMAP'-to provide your states more money to help meet rising costs.
"Democrats also want to repeal the President's prescription drug bill because it undermines Medicare. In addition, we must allow the federal government to negotiate the best price for prescription drugs and to legalize the safe re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada.
"I want to leave you with a simple message-know thy power. As individual legislators, you have the power to 'touch the lives' of the people you represent.
"As a bipartisan conference, you have the power to help shape the debate on critical issues here in Washington. Those issues affect the lives of American families, and most importantly have an impact on the lives of American children. Working together, we can ensure security and prosperity for the American people.
"On behalf of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, I want to thank you all for your work through NCSL. I hope you will consider us a resource in making the federal government a partner with each of your states.
"Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today and for the spirit of bipartisanship you bring to Washington at this critical time."