Transcript of Speaker Pelosi Interview on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan
Contact: Speaker's Press Office, 202-226-7616 | |
San Francisco – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Margaret Brennan on CBS's Face the Nation. Below are the Speaker's remarks: Margaret Brennan. And we go now to the top Democrat in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who joins us this Mother's Day from San Francisco. Happy Mother's Day to you, Madam Speaker. Speaker Pelosi. Thank you. Happy Mother's Day to you, Margaret. Margaret Brennan. Thank you. And before we get to abortion, we did have the surprise visit on Mother's Day by the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, to Ukraine. Last Sunday, you were in Kyiv meeting with Ukraine's President. How quickly can Congress deliver this $33 billion in aid that has been promised? Speaker Pelosi. I think we will be able to do it as quickly as possible. We have great bipartisanship in terms of our support for the fight for democracy that the people of Ukraine are making. We have respect for the strategy of the President of Ukraine, and we have recognition of the need for weapons, for sanction – more weapons, more sanctions, more economic assistance and more humanitarian assistance. I was very proud to be there with my colleagues to talk about those very specific issues and our bipartisan support for them. Margaret Brennan. And you think you can get that done before the end of the month? Speaker Pelosi. I think we have to. Okay. I think we have to. The specificity with which we discussed these matters with the President, the President of Ukraine, the connection that we have with the Ambassador, who you will have on this show later – we're very current on the needs and the urgency. And, again, we will have bipartisanship as we go forward with it. Margaret Brennan. Okay. Madam Speaker, I want to talk to you, of course, about abortion. California's Governor, Gavin Newsom, said Democrats have failed to target Republicans on this issue. Here's what he had to say. [START OF CLIP] Governor Newsom. Where is the Democratic Party? Where's the party? Why aren't we calling this out? This is a concerted, coordinated effort, and yes – they're winning. We need to stand up. Where's the counter-offensive? [END OF CLIP] Margaret Brennan. Madam Speaker, why were pro-abortion rights Democrats outmaneuvered? Speaker Pelosi. I have – I have no idea. The fact is that we have been fighting for a woman's right to choose – and that is to choose. We have been fighting against the Republicans in the Congress constantly because the fact is they're not just anti-woman's right to choose in terms of terminating a pregnancy, but in terms of access to contraception and family planning and the rest, both domestically and globally. This is a constant fight that we've had for generations – decades, I should say, in my case, in the Congress. And the – we had been bipartisan early on, support for a woman's right to choose, until the politics have changed. And that's what happened to the Court. The science hasn't changed. But the Court changed, and therefore they're deciding that it will be different. I have no idea why anybody would make that statement unless they were unaware of the fight that has been going on. Margaret Brennan. Well, you have been fighting for decades on this issue. But back when Democrats held majorities in the House and the Senate in 2009, when you were Speaker, President Obama was asked about codifying Roe vs. Wade and said abortion is a moral and ethical issue and, quote, ‘not the highest legislative priority.' Do you think it was a mistake for him, for other presidents, not to push harder when Democrats had the Majority? Speaker Pelosi. If I just may, the focus we have right now is an urgent one in order to try to improve, try to improve this – we're calling it a fake or draft decision, whatever it is – I think this is a waste of time. The fact is, in '09, we really did not have a pro-choice Democratic Party. I had to fight against some of the people who did not want to pass the Affordable Care Act because they were concerned that it might enable more freedom of choice. And they really did not want to go down that path. Right now, we do have a pro-choice Democratic Congress, and we passed the law months ago – in last, I think, September. Margaret Brennan. You did in the House in September. Speaker Pelosi. It has been a while, with a number of votes. Margaret Brennan. But the votes aren't there in the Senate. Speaker Pelosi. Well, the Senate is – you'll have to talk to the Senate about the Senate. But I do think that it puts an urgency on what is happening in the election. Two – one or two more Senators could sweep back the filibuster rule for this purpose. And then a woman would have the right to choose. This is about something so serious and so personal and so disrespectful of women. Here we are on Mother's Day, a week where the Court has slapped women in the face in terms of disrespect for their judgment about the size and timing of their families. So the fact is, let's keep our eye on the ball. The ball is in the Court. Those Justices, one of them at least, said over and over again, that precedent – precedent has been established again and again on Roe vs. Wade and that was – so this decision is about being anti-precedent and anti-privacy, and has serious ramifications as we go down this path. And it has to be softened. I don't think there is a good outcome, but there is a better outcome, as far as this is concerned. Margaret Brennan. In terms of – Speaker Pelosi. Again, let's be prayerful about this. This is about respect for privacy. What's next? What's next? Marriage equality? What's next? Contraception? Margaret Brennan. Do you need to write bills to enshrine those things, those things you just said you're concerned about, do you need bills to enshrine those now? Birth control access – Speaker Pelosi. Excuse me? Margaret Brennan. The things you think might be next, do you think you need to legislate, to enshrine them into law right now, to protect them, if you think the Court may overturn them? Speaker Pelosi. What is really interesting, Margaret, about this is, for decades, I've been trying to say to my Republican friends and women who care about a woman's right to choose, who contribute to Planned Parenthood and all of those organizations, ‘You can't do that and expect – you've got to weigh in with your own party on this.' Barbara Bush early on – Republicans were very much about family planning and respect for women. So the thing is that most people always thought that this debate in the Congress was about the termination of a pregnancy. But it wasn't. My Republican colleagues have said to me on occasion, ‘We're not for any family planning domestically or globally.' Because I was trying to get them to support us on some global family planning issues. ‘We're not for any of it.' And most people don't know that. And we don't want to be – this is a fact. This is a fact. That's where – what they believe. And they are true to their beliefs. Margaret Brennan. But given the urgency with which you're speaking, the Reproductive Choice Act – two pro-abortion rights Republicans in the Senate, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski put that forward – Leader Schumer says that's not even worth putting forward to a vote. But when you do have Republicans interested in working together, is that strategic mistake? You say this is an emergency. Speaker Pelosi. Well, it depends on what the legislation is and what – the impact that it has on women's lives. The enshrinement of Roe v. Wade into the law is the way in order to protect a woman's right to choose. I don't know why they say they're for that and can't be for this legislation. Should we all have a discussion and find our common ground? Always. Always. You're either for the enshrinement of Roe v. Wade or you're not. It is the law of the land for nearly 50 years. The precedent of it has been reaffirmed, what, fourteen times? And just because there has been – the Republicans were very clear when they had a presidential campaign, that their campaign was to elect a President who would appoint judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade — it didn't say the science would change. You know, one more point in that regard: Mitch McConnell pulled back the filibuster rule in order to have those Justices confirmed by 51 – by not needing 60 votes – by 51 – so this is a political decision on the part of this party. The rule of law should be respected, women should be respected to make their own judgments with their family, their doctor, their God. Margaret Brennan. Speaker Pelosi, thank you for your time this morning. # # # |