Pelosi Remarks at Press Availability Calling on Republicans to Keep Military DREAMer Amendment in FY16 NDAA

Press Conference

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks today at a press availability calling on Republicans to keep the Gallego military DREAMer amendment in the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Below are the Leader's remarks followed by the question and answer session:

Leader Pelosi's Opening Remarks:

"It is my honor to join Congressman Gallego in support of his amendment that is under assault on the floor of the House in the consideration of the defense authorization bill. He has spoken eloquently to what his amendment does and described what the opposition to it has misrepresented. I congratulate him for his service to our country. He has served as a Marine, as he said, in Iraq. I have seen his grassroots operation of enthusiastic, idealistic people who want to serve our country and I thank him for his leadership in the Congress.

"As it was indicated, this is yet another example of anti-immigrant attitude on the part of the House Republicans. We know that there was a bipartisan bill passed in the Senate that was not even given a chance to be brought to a vote by the House Republicans. We know that they were ready to shut down government when it came to homeland security in order to eliminate the President's administrative actions to protect people in our country -- something that President Reagan did, something that President George Herbert Walker Bush did, President George Bush did. And yet they said it was unconstitutional when President Obama did it. We have even seen them try to reverse the constitutional birthright of a person born in America being a citizen -- this xenophobic, anti-newcomer attitude is something that is un-American. And now of course we have this attempt today to reverse the success Mr. Gallego had in committee.

"We will fight this. We hopefully will defeat what they are doing and also break down their barriers to young people in our country, patriotic, who want to serve the only country that they know, the only country that they love.

"With that, I'm pleased to yield to our distinguished House Democratic Whip, Mr. Hoyer."

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Q: Do you think that -- maybe this should be directed to leadership -- is this enough to blow up this bill? I know that obviously you feel very strong about this. I know there is concerns about other parts of the bill as you alluded to this morning, but is this enough you think to really make Republican sweat -- if they're going to do this, they are going to have to pass the bill on their own?

Leader Pelosi. Well, I think they are going to have to pass this bill on their own. And since you mentioned that, I will just reference that the Speaker mentioned that we shouldn't oppose a defense bill -- to remind he did in 2010 when we won the amendment to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. When the bill was brought to the floor with that amendment to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell', only nine Republicans voted for it. One of the Republicans who voted against the defense bill was the now Speaker of the House, John Boehner. So the sanctimony of saying we should be ashamed if we're not voting for the defense bill -- as our Ranking Member has said: do you feel the shame yourself because you voted against it?

We don't think people should be ashamed. We think people should vote their conscience. And their conscience says in this bill, what Mr. Gallego is putting forth, is doing the right thing. Bipartisan support in the committee affirms that. Some on the floor want to undo that good amendment that was contained there. And I don't know if it blows up the bill. You'll have to ask the Republicans. But we have concerns about the bill that relate to the budget and that's the debate that we will be having on the floor when that bill comes forward.

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