Nancy Pelosi

August 7, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in reaction to the Department of Labor’s announcement today on weekly jobless claims. The Department reported that first time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 455,000 – the highest number since the 2001 recession.:

“President Bush’s failed economic policies continue to take their toll on Americans as more workers have filed for unemployment benefits this week than at any time since the 2001 recession. After seven years of Bush Administration economic policies that have rewarded those at the very top at the expense of middle class Americans, we need a New Direction economic plan that strengthens job creation and renews the American Dream.    » read more »

August 1, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, other senior Members of Congress, and families impacted by unsafe toys joined together at an enrollment ceremony today for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This bill, which now goes to President Bush for his signature into law, gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission the resources, authority, and oversight it needs to protect children from lead, dangerous toys and other unsafe products.

“At the beginning of this Congress, I proudly gaveled the Congress to order in the name of all of America’s children, promising to make this a children’s Congress. This week, we have more than one reason to be honoring that pledge and be glad about that.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., 07/18/2008 – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on House Republicans’ planned trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska this weekend:

“This weekend, House Republican leaders will take their allegiance to the President’s failed policies to a new latitude. They will follow him all the way to the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska instead of touring the 68 million acres of onshore and offshore lands that oil companies have already leased, but have not developed.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., 07/18/2008 -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on reports that President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki will work to include a “general time horizon” in the security agreement between the United States and Iraq:

“Congressional Democrats have repeatedly urged President Bush to bring our troops home from Iraq honorably, responsibly, safely and soon. After rejecting 18 months of attempts by the Democratic majority in Congress to adopt redeployment timetables, the President now proposes a vague ‘general time horizon’ that falls far short of a commitment to ending our involvement in Iraq.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., 07/18/2008 -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in reaction to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealing that 12 states and the District of Columbia now have unemployment rates above 6 percent and 45 states have rates significantly higher that of one year ago:

“Rising unemployment across the United States makes it clear that Congress must act on additional economic recovery measures to create jobs and help Americans with rising food and energy costs.    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement this afternoon after the House voted 274 to 137 to pass legislation that will help workers who have lost their jobs as a result of an economy on the brink of recession. The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act passed by a 2/3 majority, a margin large enough to override a threatened veto by President Bush.

“Today, the House voted to help 3.8 million Americans who are out of work in large part because of the disastrous economic policies of this White House and its allies in Washington.    » read more »

June 10, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to Senate Republicans blocking consideration of the Consumer-First Energy Act and the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008:

“Senate Republicans have once again shown themselves to be unwilling to break free of the costly, failed Bush energy policies of the past. They have again adopted President Bush’s ‘drill and veto’ policy that is driving up the price of oil, diesel, and gasoline and leaving us dangerously reliant on Middle East oil.    » read more »

June 6, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement as the price of oil by the barrel reached $139, an $11 increase from yesterday – the largest one-day increase in history:

“With crude oil prices reaching another record high today, Democrats in Congress are fighting to reverse seven years of Bush-Cheney energy policies that have driven up the price at the pump for Americans struggling to make ends meet.

“Democrats are working to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce gas prices, launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that creates hundreds of thousands of green jobs and helps save our planet.    » read more »

June 6, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel announced this afternoon that legislation extending unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term jobless will be acted on swiftly by the House.

The House Ways and Means Committee has already passed the legislation to aid millions of workers who have lost their jobs in the struggling economy.    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after Congress sent to the President H.R. 1195, bipartisan legislation to help promote 40,000 American jobs in transportation and construction:

““The bipartisan transportation legislation Congress sent the President today will help create and support 40,000 good paying American jobs. This represents our down payment on a new commitment to renewing America’s infrastructure, which will continue with the reauthorization of the highway bill next year.    » read more »

June 2, 2008 -- San Francisco – On Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered the keynote address at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) rail conference in San Francisco. Below are her remarks as prepared:

“Thank you, Nat [Ford]. Nat does an excellent job leading the SFMTA in managing San Francisco’s ground transportation system, which includes our transit system, Muni, one of the oldest and greenest transit systems in the United States. Under his tenure, San Francisco has opened a new light rail line and established the largest municipal bio-diesel fleet in the nation, with bio-diesel fuel now utilized in all Muni’s diesel fleet vehicles.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- Washington, D.C.- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on H.R. 6074, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, which passed the House by a vote of 324 to 84, despite a veto threat:

“The House today with a strong bipartisan and veto-proof margin voted to hold foreign oil cartels and Big Oil accountable.

“The legislation provides the Justice Department with a critical tool to pursue antitrust actions against OPEC-controlled entities for fixing prices and creates a new Justice Department Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to examine anticompetitive market practices in the oil industry. It also requires that the mergers of Big Oil companies in recent years be examined for anticompetitive effects.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement following news that President Bush has signed legislation to temporarily suspend the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel.

A technician works on a Strategic Petroleum Reserve wellhead.: DOE photo

Current shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is now 97 percent full, will end on June 30.    » read more »

May 14, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders held a news conference today to discuss the New Direction Congressional agenda. Below are the Speaker’s opening remarks:

“Good morning. Today we stand here before you very proud of the New Direction Congress. Especially proud of what we have accomplished in the last couple of weeks and what we will do going into the Memorial Day weekend. We have solutions to the challenges facing the American people.

“It has always been our agenda to grow our economy, grow good paying jobs in our country, through innovation, through rebuilding our infrastructure, through making us energy independent and preserving our planet, through strengthening our families, and through education and health care.    » read more »

May 13, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement following House passage of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act by a vote of 385 to 25. The bill temporarily suspends the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel.

Oil pipes at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: DOE photo    » read more »