Transcript of Pelosi Press Conference Today

Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference today. Below is a transcript of the press conference.

Leader Pelosi. Good morning, good morning.

Sad week. All of us who love justice and all of us who love Baltimore are deeply saddened by the death of Freddie Gray and the deep wounds that have been laid bare in the Baltimore community. Of course we hope for the speedy recovery of the police officers who were hurt. Gray's death, though, in police custody demands answers. And I am pleased that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation as to what happened.

To find justice, we must respect the great successful tradition of nonviolence. Nonviolence, the last 50 years or longer, has been a tradition of protest and disagreement and civil disobedience. So now, thousands of peacefully demonstrating Baltimoreans are doing just that in recent days. I hope that we can move forward to a productive peace, but we have to recognize, also, that this is many layered in terms of opportunity for education, for jobs, and the rest.

The fury of despair, of no hope, is something – it is throughout the world, and including in our country – that evokes an angry response. But we, again, also have to respect the responsibilities our law enforcement officers take when they leave home to protect the community. There has to be something different happening in the orientation of not only our police, but our justice system.

Back here yesterday, weeks behind schedule, and after weeks of negotiating in secret, and alone, Republicans finally filed their budget conference report. The budget continues Republicans' quest to empower special interests on the backs of hard-working American families. It is entirely inadequate to meet America's needs. It green lights the Romney-Ryan plan to give millionaires a tax break, while destroying millions of jobs and decreasing economic growth for hard-working American families. That is just what it does.

It strips millions of Americans of tax credits for affordable health care by repealing the ACA. Here we go again. It freezes Pell Grants and ransacks our children's education – so sad. It turns a cold shoulder to our veterans and ignores our crumbling infrastructure.

In terms of our veterans, you see yesterday Republicans sought to advance their first appropriations bill under the level set by their new budget, which may or may not come to the floor today. But yesterday, the MilCon – military construction veterans bill that cuts $1.4 billion below President Obama's budget and cuts – that's generally, and then it cuts $690 million from veterans' medical care alone, the equivalent of 70,000 fewer veterans receiving VA medical care in one year.

Disabled Veterans of America, the national commander – I don't have their letters here, but we have letters from all of them, Disabled Veterans of America, the national commander of the American Legion, the national commander of the VFW are urging a "no" vote until we get this at least to the President's level. The VFW said this bill needs to be amended to fully fund the VA at the Administration's request. If not, then the Veterans of Foreign Wars urges every Member of Congress to vote against its passage. The American Legion said the American Legion won't support an appropriation bill for vets/VA that falls short of fully funding the needs of America's veterans and VA. America's veterans deserve a VA that receives full funding.

Later today, or last night, they began, actually, an Energy and Water bill that undermines the Clean Water Act and attacks America's clean energy future. It slashes renewable energy spending and zeroes out a critical environmental restoration, while surging spending on fossil fuels. So that's their first two bills to come forward in the spirit of their valueless based budget. We always think a budget should be a statement of our values, and what is important to us should be reflected there. I don't know if it's a statement of values here to undermine education, clean water, and the rest.

While Republicans have been advancing a job killing budget and withdrawing their gimmick – they withdrew last night, as you know, their VA bill, probably will rear its head today, their gimmick-riddled MilCon, military construction/VA bill; we speak in abbreviations here – Democrats are acting to preserve a vital pillar of America's competitiveness overseas. Today, just earlier this morning, Democrats, under the leadership of Denny Heck, filed a discharge petition on urgently needed legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Our Ranking Member on the full committee of Financial Services, Maxine Waters, has really been a champion for the Ex-Im Bank.

There are only 25 legislative days left until Republicans' radical inaction shutters, just shuts down the Ex-Im Bank, that is on June 30, dealing a blow to American workers, American manufacturers, America's competitiveness, and therefore to America's economy. This Ex-Im Bank operates at no cost to taxpayers. It has sustained 164,000 American export jobs just last year, and created or sustained 1.3 million private sector jobs since 2009.

Whether it's Ex-Im Bank, IMF, just all of the organizations that were established to demonstrate U.S. competitiveness of our economy and of our values – they are being undermined by the Republicans. They should stop threatening these important tools to enable American goods to compete in foreign markets – that would be the Ex-Im Bank – and also bring the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, authorization forward. The IMF, we demanded certain changes at the IMF, certain reforms. They made them. Other countries accepted them, and then we said no to our own reforms.

Later today, House and Senate Democrats will come together to unveil our new bill to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour and talk about the importance of increasing the wages of millions of American workers.

As we keep saying, bigger paychecks, better infrastructure. When the middle class succeeds, America succeeds. And there's a reason for that. Because when the middle class has consumer confidence and consumes and spends, it injects demand into the economy, creating jobs. We're not going to have a full turnaround in our economy unless we have bigger paychecks for the middle class.

So we will continue, Democrats will continue to champion creating jobs and growing the paychecks of all Americans rather than being here, as the Republicans are, as the handmaidens of the special interests.

Any questions? Yes, sir.

***

Q: Madam Leader…

Leader Pelosi. You are all the way back there.

Q: Senator Bernie Sanders is entering the Presidential race today. Do you believe that the Democrats should have debates even if it is just a two-way race?

Leader Pelosi. Even if it is just a two-way race? You mean between Bernie? I thought you asked me about Lincoln Chafee last week, didn't you?

[Laughter]

Q: Do you feel there should be a Democratic debate?

Leader Pelosi. I think it's very healthy to have – I am not talking about – when you say debate, you mean debate of ideas? Yes. Formal debate, that's not up to me. But the fact is I think it's healthy for a party to have an exchange of ideas, to have a bench, especially when we're talking about leadership that comes after.

And so I don't think that anybody who is running for President should fear having someone else run for President so they can engage in the marketplace of ideas, which is what an election is all about. And I have every confidence that any person that you have named, and others who have named themselves, or yet to come, will enliven the debate. And that will be wholesome if we have it. If we don't have it, we'll just get moving with what we have.

And I'm very excited about this time because I think the distinction is so very, very clear. And the distinctions between middle-class economics and trickle-down economics, which is what the Republicans have proposed and has failed every time they have implemented it, is really a debate that the public should hear. I hope that it can be done in the most respectful way so that – one of the things the Democrats stand for is respect for other people's ideas.

So rather than having analysis of whether it's good for somebody to be in or not, let's just hear what their ideas are for the future. I think the country is enriched by that, and I think our party is as well.

By the way, I am going to New Hampshire this weekend. Yes, I am going to New Hampshire.

Q: So does that mean you are a candidate? Are you running?

[Laughter]

Leader Pelosi. I am overwhelmed by your response to my announcement that I'm going to New Hampshire this weekend.

Q: Madam Leader, on trade for a moment: I know you went to talk to the President for lunch yesterday.

Leader Pelosi. Trade, for a moment – a moment, that would be 60 seconds.

Q: Ok, we're on the clock.

Leader Pelosi. Clock is ticking.

Q: It's like the NFL draft.

Leader Pelosi. The NFL draft.

Q: What are the differences between you and other Democrats and the President on trade, and does it come to a point where you have to just kind of turn your back on the President on this, if you can't get on the same page on this trade agreement?

Leader Pelosi. Well, everyone is making their own analysis of it. Now, you've used about 30 seconds; I'll take my half a minute just to say that, as I've said over and over again, that when it comes to trade, I think we all understand we live in a global economy. I hope that we could find a path to yes on this. I'm not giving up on that. We hope that we could make some – as I've said to you before, if they have the votes, no need to have a conversation. If they don't have the votes, then hopefully we can have some accommodations in either the Trade Promotion Act or the TPP itself, the actual bill, that will make it more palatable to more Democrats. But we'll see, because Members are going to vote on the substance of the bill.

Q: But what are those concrete differences? I mean, surely, your troops have said: "Well, I feel this way, no I feel this way, Mr. President."

Leader Pelosi. Well it's not a question of me. It's a question of each individual Member having his or her concerns, and we've had really an initiative on the House Democratic side – I can't speak for what the Republicans are doing – on the House Democratic side that I think you are aware of, where the Administration has been very accommodating. The Trade Representative has come in so that we can drill down on issues relating to currency manipulation, dispute resolution, food safety, agriculture and automobile access to other markets and then issues that relate to Vietnam as a centralized economy, state-owned industries and how does that work in a broad trade agreement? Those are some of the concerns people have, and the issue of Mexico – what is the performance since NAFTA? This bill is supposed to improve NAFTA. Does it do that in terms of fairness to the American worker?

My standard has been – as I say about almost everything I do here – what does it do to increase the paycheck of America's workers? And again, recognizing – I think that the President has done a very good job of taking us to a much better place than NAFTA; but nonetheless, it's with many more countries, many more concerns. And I don't think the timing right now – I don't think the enough of our issues have been resolved for us to be having a big movement of votes toward the bill. And let's see what time will bring us in that regard.

Whose 30 minutes is that coming out of?

Q: Let me go back to Freddie Gray for a second. We are entering the summer months right now.

Leader Pelosi. Yeah.

Q: And a report just came out in the Post talking about the possibility that Mr. Gray may have injured himself while being detained. You know, if it turns out that these officers are not indicted and we end up entering these months of – is there going to be a prosecutor, will there be a grand jury, is there not an indictment, and we end up getting these sort of flash points where new riots could end up occurring not just over in Baltimore but in other cities, how do you think this really should be handled?

Leader Pelosi. I want to back up to the beginning of your question. You said a "new report" just came out. I don't know what "report" means. That sounds like something official. You mean somebody said that somebody said.

Q: Over at the Post, yes.

Leader Pelosi. Somebody said that somebody said an unidentified person said. I don't know what that is. I read the paper this morning, I saw that, and I thought, is this news or is this hearsay? You know, what is this? Because I don't know what that is.

But to your bigger and broader question as to what will happen, my understanding is that tomorrow they will issue - a report will come forward, and that these reports are not always made public immediately. But I do think it will have – when it is made public – will have a response, and hopefully it will be a peaceful one.

Q: How realistic is that? Even though we have seen a de-escalation over in Baltimore, we are seeing in other cities things are sort of ramping up. And if there isn't an indictment, if there isn't a grand jury, is there a concern?

Leader Pelosi. We will see what the report brings forward when they make it public. But I am very proud of some of what is happening in Baltimore in relationship to the thousands of people who have demonstrated peacefully. They too have rejected the violence, the theft, the other acts, illegal acts, that have happened there.

On the other hand, again, we have to get the facts and not just the rumor or a small picture. I really, with all due respect to all that you all do, as one of the Maryland leaders said, when 10,000 people marched it was barely news; when a couple of buildings were burned down, it was all over the world covered.

So we have to have some balance in how we view what is happening there. Really good people are trying very hard to contain the response. And some of it is really related to Freddie Gray and some of it is not. This is many layered, many layered. So one step at a time. Let's see what the report is and we will go from there. Yes, sir.

Q: Many Republicans I have spoken with who have been past supporters of extending Export-Import Bank say that the bank has failed to follow its rules and reform as was required in previous legislation. Does it have a credibility problem? And if so, what does it need to do to overcome that in Congress?

Leader Pelosi. Well, Republicans are going to have to say specifically what that is. But the fact is, that they would shut down the Ex-Im Bank sends a message to all of our competitors that it's open season in the marketplace, the global marketplace, because we will not be advancing with loans, et cetera, American commerce internationally. If in fact they have a complaint, their response is certainly disproportionate to what their complaint might be.

Q: Madam Leader, I wonder if you have any response to the move that the Republicans in the House are going to make later today to restrict reproductive rights in the District of Columbia by voting down a law on the books.

Leader Pelosi. This is one of the – we can have our disagreements about the role of government. But if you believe that there should be no role of government, if you want to shut down government, if you don't believe in governance, how is it that all of that is cast aside when it comes to women's reproductive freedom?

So today the Republicans are moving to a motion of disapproval of a District of Columbia law which would allow employers to fire employees for reproductive health decisions that they or even their dependents make, they, the employee, their spouse, or their dependents make. Allowing employers to fire employees for using birth control, or to engage in in vitro fertilization, or any other reproductive health care service is an outrageous intrusion into workers' personal lives.

It seems to me totally inconsistent with the anti-government rhetoric that we hear around here morning, noon, and night. This is Hobby Lobby on steroids. And Republicans need to recognize that your own health care choices are not your boss's business.

It really makes me angry, because you know – as you well know, I am the mother of five in six years. I want anybody who has had five children in six years, almost to the day, to come talk to me about this. And you know, got blessed with many grandchildren. This is not your boss's business.

How dare they? Especially those who are so anti-government, to all of a sudden have government making decisions about reproductive health.

Yes, sir.

Q: What can be done at the federal level to try to alleviate sort of the symptoms what caused what happened in Baltimore? You have high incarceration rates, you have poverty, you have lack of education. It seems like these problems have been festering since 1968 to some degree. What can be done at the federal level? You talked about a reorientation of police and justice. What specifically can be done?

Leader Pelosi. Well, we have a few bills in that regard. The Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act Mr. Conyers is going to introduce in early May, which I think is really important. It gives accreditation standards for local police departments, authorization and funding for best practices and data collection, and strengthening criminal investigative authority for the DOJ to investigate the actions of the police for whatever happens out there.

Bobby Scott has a Safety Valve Act to allow judges to impose sentences below the mandatory minimum. As many of you know – maybe you weren't here – but I served for a long time on the Appropriations Committee. And one of my Committees at one point was Commerce, Justice. And the judges at the highest level of our judicial system would come in there and say, give us discretion. Mandatory minimums take the discretion away from the judge. These are just not right. And wherever they were on the philosophical spectrum, they all agreed mandatory minimums were not the way to go.

So I think we should revisit that. Of course you have heard about the cameras and the rest of that. And Mr. Conyers also has [a bill] ending racial profiling, prohibiting racial profiling for federal law enforcement, and creating a cause of action for racial profiling. It is a more specific bill than that, but that's the essence of it.

I do think also that we all have to respect the role that our law enforcement agencies play. And what is their job? Is their job to maintain order, law and order and protect people from criminal offenses and the rest of that and report them, or is it to fight a guerilla war on the streets of the city? There has to be a different kind of training for that. I don't mean a guerilla war, I don't want to overstate it that way, but actions taken by some that are a departure from the normal responsibilities of a police officer.

And that doesn't mean anything about peaceful protests or enthusiastic protests – it means targeted actions against the police and against the safety of the people who are trying to demonstrate peacefully. I mean, look at our country 50 years ago, what peaceful demonstrations did to change who we are, to make America more American. We can't let anybody exploit that by hooliganism.

On the other hand, we have to have a balance in how we make judgments about it. So in the meantime it would be great if we had a great summer jobs program where we could put people to work. You know, things that alleviate some of the despair that people have out there.

You know, I love Baltimore, and my brother was mayor in 1968, when the riots – he was a very young man in his 30s. And this is not anywhere near what that was in 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King. But nonetheless, some of the same symptoms are there that caused some of the unease.

Freddie Gray's parents, mother, called for calm. God bless her. Our hearts and prayers are with her. Some people ignored that and went another route. It's very sad. But it is a very big issue that we have to pay attention to because, as I say, it has many, many layers. And Baltimore is different from Ferguson in terms of size, in terms of leadership, and in many ways. But still, there is a frustration that we have to address.

But let's get back to Washington, D.C., for a moment. Can you believe, just when you think you have seen it all in terms of intruding into the personal lives of America's families, they come up with something that will overturn a duly elected law in the District of Columbia and say that employers can have a say over whether a family can have in vitro fertilization, or if a person's daughter or spouse can use birth controls pills.

Not even the employee. Not even the employee. This is outrageous. I salute Eleanor Holmes Norton for her strong leadership, the District delegate, and hope that we can just knock this out today. I don't think it will ever become law.

Just one more. Yes, sir?

Q: Back to trade for another moment.

Leader Pelosi. Figuratively speaking, not necessarily 30 seconds, more like a congressional minute?

Q: Let's do a congressional minute. You said last week that you couldn't say how you were going to vote…

Leader Pelosi. That's right.

Q: …because there was nothing to vote for. Now, the Ways & Means Committee has passed the TPA. It did get two Democratic votes. I'm wondering if you know how you would vote for that bill if it came to the floor…

Leader Pelosi. For that bill? We'll see when it goes to conference. We'll see when it goes to conference. There were a couple things that came out of the Committee on the same day. One was the Trade Adjustment [Assistance], which had really a totally unacceptable pay-for for it. And so, we're striving, working together in a bipartisan way, to try to find a better pay-for. And I think that that will have an impact on some people's votes on trade promotion or even the TPP, if there is a decent TAA – Trade Adjustment Assistance. We have always had that. In '09, we had $575 million. This bill would have $450 million – much lower, but nonetheless, we don't like the pay-for, whatever the amount. And so, we're striving in a bipartisan way to find a way to pay for it. So we'll see. One step at a time.

Q: What are you telling your Members at this point?

Leader Pelosi. I am listening to my Members at this point. I am listening. What do you hear? To be continued.

Q: What are they telling you?

Leader Pelosi. Different things. They mostly want to know what the pay-for is for the TAA.

Q: Can I just follow up on that question on trade?

Leader Pelosi. That was the last question.

Q: You said you had lunch with the President yesterday. I am just wondering what your message to the President was on his trade agenda with so many Democrats in the House opposing it.

Leader Pelosi. Oh, you don't expect me to tell you what my conversation was with the President at lunch yesterday, do you? You don't. No.

Q: What did you guys have for lunch?

Leader Pelosi. That won't be happening. It was a good lunch.

Q: What was it?

Leader Pelosi. It was very wholesome.

Q: Sandwiches?

Q: Who are the Niners going to draft?

Leader Pelosi. I don't know. Isn't it exciting, the draft? I mean, it's pretty exciting.

Q: You usually get more excited about baseball.

Leader Pelosi. They are in baseball season. But nonetheless, we are waiting, the Giants are going to come soon to get their salute at the White House. We haven't gotten off to a great start, but neither did we last year either, so, on the Giants.

Q: It is an odd year, though.

Leader Pelosi. You never know. Every other year. Maybe we could live with that. I don't know. We will see. But the Niners, we really need some boost. So hopefully they will – but did you watch it this morning to see how it used to be in a dark room and people decided and came out and then it became on TV.

Q: Sort of like getting votes for the trade bill.

[Laughter]

Leader Pelosi. Nothing that exciting. Now let's not go overboard with the draft.

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