Pelosi Update
July 31, 2015
This week, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. This legislation has stood as the guardian of Americans’ right to vote, of Americans’ right to have their voices heard in the direction that their government is taking. Two years ago, the Supreme Court weakened some of the most important protections of the Voting Rights Act. Instead of strengthening this bipartisan legislation, House Republicans have refused to allow a bill to come to the floor and have adjourned for nearly six weeks. It is wrong to permit this most fundamental right of our democracy to be eroded.
July 24, 2015
This week, I joined a group of bipartisan, bicameral Members of Congress tointroduce the Equality Act, an historic, comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination bill that ensures all Americans have the same basic protections under the law. We have come so far since we began the fight to ensure equal rights for LGBT Americans.
July 21, 2015
On Tuesday, an historic nuclear agreement was reached between Iran and the P5+1 Nations – United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany – providing the best, long-term solution for preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
July 11, 2015
This week, as we celebrated the 147th anniversary of the ratification of the 14th Amendment, granting equal protection for all, South Carolina voted to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from their Statehouse grounds. Yet at the same time, House Republicans moved to allow a vote to undo successful Democratic amendments that would have barred the display of Confederate flags in federal cemeteries and barred the National Park Service from doing business with gift shops that sell Confederate flag merchandise as part of the Interior Appropriations bill. After the terrible tragedy in Charleston, after decades of this flag serving as a banner of oppression, hate, and segregation, it is long overdue to take down the Confederate Battle Flag.
July 2, 2015
This weekend, as our nation celebrates the Fourth of July, let all of us remember the treasured words of the declaration that heralded our independence -- the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As we approach Independence Day, we continue to celebrate two landmark Supreme Court decisions from last week that honor the highest ideals of our Founders.
June 26, 2015
This week, for the second time, the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act. The Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell ensures that all eligible Americans, regardless of their home states, have access to premium tax credits to afford life-saving health care.
June 19, 2015
This week, House Republicans once again chose to Fast Track the trade agreement and passed Trade Promotion Authority in a vote of 218-208.
June 12, 2015
As we seek to secure our nation's place as a leader in today's global economy, we must not leave the American worker or American values behind. For these and other reasons, I voted today to slow down the trade Fast Track, to get a better deal for the American people – bigger paychecks, better infrastructure – and to help all who seek to fulfill the American Dream.
June 8, 2015
LGBT Americans have long been on the frontlines in the fight for equality for all Americans. In commemorating LGBT Pride Month throughout June, we honor courageous citizens who combat injustice and recommit our efforts to creating a stronger, more inclusive democracy. We recognize our shared progress to ensure equality for LGBT Americans – in Congress to the Supreme Court, from state legislatures to local courthouses – by remaining vigilant in confronting bigotry and remaining hopeful for a better future for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
May 29, 2015
Honoring Our Heritage
This week, I was honored to join with the Asian-American Pacific Islander community at the YWCA of San Francisco and Marin in Chinatown to participate in a roundtable discussion on my bipartisan congressional delegation trip to Asia and offer an update on current legislation im