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A Recipe for Recession

April 4, 2014
Pelosi Update

Without Further Delay
As the Senate moves forward with a vote to extend unemployment insurance, it is time for the House to act on behalf of the millions of Americans reeling from the loss of their emergency unemployment insurance.

Since December 28th, when the Republicans allowed unemployment insurance to expire, more than two million Americans have been cut off from the emergency unemployment insurance they rely on to pay their bills as they search for work – including an estimated 514,300 Californians – and that national figure continues to grow by 72,000 every week. House Democrats have introduced a discharge petition on the House floor in an attempt to force a vote on extending unemployment insurance for these hardworking Americans and 193 Membershave already signed on.

House Republicans must overcome their spectacular indifference to the struggles of these Americans, and work with Democrats to renew emergency unemployment insurance without any further delay.

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Rosie the Riveters
This week, I was honored to join with Congressional Members from the Bay Area in welcoming a group of Northern California women who had served in factories during World War II supporting the war effort to the Capitol. These women represent a generation of workers whose contributions gave rise to the image of ‘Rosie the Riveter’, and paved the way for the greater participation of women in the workforce.

Their work, in wartime and the years that followed, prove a great truth about our nation: when women succeed, America succeeds. As we continue our fight to ensure that every woman has the power to reach her potential, we take lessons from the generations of woman who came before us. These trailblazing women stepped up in a time of great need and helped win a war, spending their days on the factory floor and assembly line. And while many of the factories offered childcare centers, women today continue to see their professional ambitions thwarted due to the drastic lack of quality preschool for America’s children.

We must honor the contribution of ‘Rosie the Riveters’ by building a brighter future for generations of America’s daughters. We must empower women with fair pay, work life balance, and childcareso that they can achieve the economic success that our country needs and they so rightfully deserve.

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Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins Congressional Members from the Bay Area to welcome “Rosie the Riveters”, a group of California women who served in factories during World War II and helped pave the way for women in the workplace.

A Recipe for Recession
House Republicans have released the budget from GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, revealing their vision for a less prosperous America. They are undermining seniors, students, and the middle class, crippling our economic competitiveness, and gutting our nation’s investments in the future – all to protect loopholes for the wealthy few and corporations that ship jobs overseas.

Under this Republican budget, the wealthy and well-connected wouldn’t be asked to pay even a little more. But seniors would be asked to pay more for preventive services and prescription drugs and see the end of the Medicare guarantee. Families would witness devastating cuts to research, innovation, education, clean energy, and manufacturing, ceding economic leadership to other nations. All Americans would see a budget that rejects comprehensive immigration reform, with its promise of job creation, stronger small businesses, a growing economy, and a shrinking deficit.

The American people want solutions that will reduce the deficit and strengthen the middle class – but not on the backs of hardworking Americans. Congress must come together to reignite the American Dream and build an economy that works for everyone.

We Must DARE
Four years ago, the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling overturned decades of precedent and opened the floodgates to millions of dollars of secret spending on our elections. With this week’s 5 – 4 McCutcheon v. FEC Supreme Court decision, the Supreme Court has once again chosen to pour even more money into our process and our politics.

It is clear that Congress must act swiftly to restore fairness to our campaign finance system. It is time to for Congress to pass House Democrat’s Government by the People Act. Our strategy is simple. We must DARE to:

  • Disclose the sources of the money in our campaigns;
  • Amend the constitution to reverse the grievous error of the Citizens United decision;
  • Reform our broken campaign finance system;
  • Empower citizens everywhere to exercise their right to vote.

Our founders risked their lives, their liberty and their sacred honor to create a democracy – a government of the many, not a government of the money. Together, can ensure that it is the voices of the people, not the bank accounts of the privileged few that should determine our elections and our policies.