Transcript of Pelosi, Hoyer Press Availability Today

Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer held a press availability today. Below is a transcript of the Leader's opening and closing remarks, as well as a question and answer session:

Leader Pelosi's Opening Remarks:

"Good afternoon. Here we are, coming to the end of our second recess of the day. We don't know how many other recesses are in store. But the clock is ticking. In 10 hours, the government will either be shut down or not. Of course, we hope not, and the Senate has sent us a bipartisan bill strongly supported by Members of both parties to the House. The paper is here. They could take up the bill and send it to the President immediately.

"Instead, I'm going to yield to our distinguished Whip for describing the sequencing of the bills they have on the floor. And the choices that they are making are not in furtherance of solving the problem. The security of our country is our first responsibility – to protect and defend. There's enough uncertainty in the world without injecting more uncertainty as to when and how we're going to fund our Homeland Security.

"I'm just saying to the Speaker: get a grip. Get a grip, Mr. Speaker. Get a grip on the responsibility we have. Get a grip on the legislative possibilities that are here. He can bring his three-week bill to the floor and the Senate bill to the floor. Let Members vote on both. Send them both forward – one to the President, the other to the Senate. And everyone will have been able to express himself or herself on how we protect the American people.

"But instead, because of the course of action he's chosen, we will be limited. And I'm going to yield to our distinguished Whip on that score. But really, it's time to end this. This is drip, drip, drip, drip, a few weeks, from December to January, and now to February, and then to March – a whole quarter of uncertainty in the timing of this.

"Now, remember that this funding that they have, on a Continuing Resolution to go forward until March 19, whatever it is, is money at a rate of last year's funding. It's last year's funding – that does not meet this year's threats. So, for every reason, we should take up the Senate bill and move forward. I yield to our distinguished Whip."

Leader Pelosi's Closing Remarks:

"It's another instance where the Senate Republicans and Democrats have come together – whether it was the Violence Against Women Act; whether it was Homeland Security; whether it was legislation that related to payroll taxes a couple of years ago; comprehensive immigration reform – [and] House Republicans have just painted themselves into a corner. And even the Senate Republicans are asking them to send this and pass this bill. I thank the Senate Republicans and Democrats for their leadership in passing this important legislation, and wish that the Republicans in the House would learn from that."

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Leader Pelosi. Any questions?

Q: Madam Leader, the President's spokesman has indicated that the President doesn't plan to veto or not sign this bill – he would sign the three-week Continuing Resolution. Does that complicate efforts to get Democrats to vote against it?

Leader Pelosi. Well, no, the point is that the President has to deal with the choices that are put before him. And if the choice is shut down government in a few hours, or keep it open for three more weeks – that's not a very good choice, but he obviously will not shut down government. So I don't have any problem with that. But the problem is here, with the Speaker of the House. Give us a vote. What are you afraid of? Give us a vote. We don't have the majority. It would take Republican votes, as it did in the Senate, to pass this legislation. So each branch of government has to deal, and each house of Congress has to deal with the choices that are before it. And the choices before the Senate – they shaped the choice they had, which is to do the right thing.

Here, we seem to be going all around the Mulberry bush, juggling: "Do they have the votes, do they not have the votes? Bring this bill before that bill, and the rest of it." Bring their three week thing. It's wrong. It undermines all that we want to do to protect the American people. You can't plan, you can't hire, you can't protect three weeks to three weeks, drip, drip, drip. That undermines security.

So he has – the Speaker has a different choice here. Give us a vote. Give us a vote on the bipartisan bill that passed the Senate. It has nothing to do with the choice we'd like. We could turn around within an hour, you could go home, because the President will be signing the bill. Or you could go down there and watch him do it. But this could be over very shortly. Again, we are continuing funding from last year's funding level, which do not meet this year's challenges.

Whip Hoyer. We have a crisis today, Friday the 27th. We have a crisis which we created. And we created it in December to mollify those who are angry at the President – but who were not, in my opinion, focused on the security of our country.

Senator Reid has made it very clear that we will be in that same crisis three weeks from now. Because for the fifth time in a row, they will not agree to what the Republicans are going to do today if they have the votes, which means they have done four times, unsuccessfully, an effort – they control the Senate, they control the House – four times unsuccessfully attempted to pass the House bill.

You would think, at some point in time, the Republicans would get the idea that that bill is not going to pass. So all we are doing – yes, the President may sign it – but all we are doing is postponing for 21 days the crisis. There are enough crises, frankly, that happen that we don't create. Creating crisis is a bad policy, and we ought not to do it.

Leader Pelosi. It's a manufactured crisis. The sad part of it is that we're going down a path which is already blocked. Leader Reid has already said we're not going to conference. We're not going to conference. Going to conference at this point on these issues, with immigration and the rest, is really a very bad idea. They know that's not going to happen. When will they ever learn? Just take the shortest path to get the job done for the American people.

Q: Madam Leader, passing a clean bill like the Senate passed in the House would require Democratic votes. The suggestion has been that, if Boehner allowed that, Members of his own Caucus would move to have his Speakership declared vacant. That's a vote that would require Democratic votes. Would you assure the Speaker that your Caucus would not support…

Leader Pelosi. I don't have any intention of getting involved in the politics of that Caucus. They have enough trouble getting along with each other. I don't think I should inject myself into that. Thank you. Thank you all.

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