Take Yes for an Answer
October 11, 2013
End the Shutdown Today
The Republican attempt at a piecemeal approach to governing is nothing more than a political gimmick and a non-starter. Our colleagues across the aisle have shut down the government – and they can’t cherry-pick their way out of it. The government shutdown could be over in hours if Republicans could stop being the party of “no” and just take “yes” for an answer. Democrats have already stated that they are ready to cooperate.
Two hundred Democratic Members of the House have signed a letter saying that they are willing to accept Speaker Boehner’s budget number for six weeks even though we do not like this number, nor do we think it is adequate. But the fact is: we dislike shutting down the government more than we dislike this short-term budget. This is about cooperation, about reopening the government and restoring the essential services that millions of American families rely on.
Aside from the ongoing government shutdown, we are facing another imminent deadline—our nation is fast approaching our debt limit, which must be raised in order to ensure the full faith and credit of the United States. We do not think a six week lift of the debt limit is the right way to go. If we can raise the debt limit for at least one year, we can perhaps provide some stability and certainty for the markets that a six-week rise will not afford.
So we have said “yes,” to opening the government. We have cooperated. I hope that the Speaker will give us a vote so we can see where this Congress stands on the serious responsibility that we have been entrusted with by the American people. If the Speaker will accept the number that we have accepted—his number—then the government can reopen tomorrow.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on the floor of the House of Representatives demanding a vote to allow an end to the government shutdown.
TRUST Our Neighbors
Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed his name to legislation that honors our history and upholds our heritage as a nation of immigrants. By enacting the TRUST Act, California is protecting its communities, ensuring effective law enforcement, and, once again, leading by example.
Authored by one of our Assemblymen, Tom Ammiano, the TRUST Act restores public trust and promotes public safety by ensuring immigrants are not afraid to work with local law enforcement officials out of fear of their immigration status. These reforms, along with the new law approving drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants, reflect a significant step forward in the path to fixing our broken immigration system.
We in the House of Representatives have taken the next step by introducing legislation to secure our borders, protect our workers, unite our families, and provide an earned pathway to citizenship – the core principles of commonsense comprehensive immigration reform.
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Army Captain Jennifer Moreno, a 2010 graduate of the University of San Francisco’s School of Nursing, who was killed in action this week while serving as an Army nurse in Afghanistan. Captain Moreno volunteered for the highly competitive Special Operations Cultural Support Team, and lived for service, justice, and compassion. We honor her dedication and her devotion, and our eternal thanks will always remain with the servicemen and women like Captain Moreno who keep us and our nation safe.
Captain Moreno, the first member of her family to attend and graduate college, is survived by her mother, brother, and two sisters. This week Congress passed, and the President signed into law a bill to ensure her family receives her military death benefit. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and promoted to Captain.
Honored and Humbled
I feel very blessed, honored, and humbled to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend in Seneca Falls, New York. The women’s rights and suffragist movement was born at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention. When I became Democratic Leader and then Speaker of the House, I was standing on their shoulders – and then others can stand on mine. But there is still much work to do, because When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.