Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference Ahead of House Passage of Gun Violence Prevention Bills

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Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Chairman Thompson, for your leadership on this important legislation. It's an honor to be here with you, with our colleague, Lucy McBath, who has shared her story as to why this is so important in a way so eloquent that it challenges the conscience of the Congress not to pass this legislation. Thank you for your leadership on H.R. 8. And Mr. Clyburn, thank you, our distinguished Whip, for your leadership on H.R. 1446. You – the case was made, I thought, eloquently on the Floor with the facts that you presented yesterday in the face of some misrepresentations on the other side.

It's my honor to welcome back to the House side, Senator Murphy, who has been a champion on this issue, and we thank you for your leadership. And Senator Blumenthal, the former Attorney General of Connecticut, a champion on this issue as well. We expect the distinguished Leader to be joining us as well, who was the champion when he was in the House and now in the Senate, on this issue. Mr. Schumer was our leader when we passed this bill in 1994. And I was a new, relatively new Member, and we were his minions to get that bill passed at the time. It was hard, but it did happen.

And so it is – the Chairman, the Representatives of the Judiciary Committee will speak about that: Mr. Nadler and the Chair of the Crimes Subcommittee, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. So, you'll have a full array of what the bills contain and that. I just wanted to put it in this context.

Yesterday, when I spoke on the Floor about the American Rescue package, I said our most important issues facing the Congress are our children, our children, our children. Their health, their education, the economic security of their families, a safe environment in which they can thrive and a world at pace in which they could reach their fulfillment. Three – the first three of those were addressed in the bill yesterday. An environment in which they can thrive safely, is what we are talking about today.

There is no – any – nobody in Congress whose political survival is more important than the survival of our children. We think this should be bipartisan in the Congress, as it is in the country. As it is in the country. Overwhelmingly, there's broad support for the background checks legislation. So, we hope that the with the big, strong bipartisan vote we have today, to send it over to the Senate and the drumbeat across America, that the change will come. We have told the survivors when they have come here, when they could, and in our communications since then, that we are not giving up until the job is done; until we pass this legislation, which will save lives.

And Mr. Schumer, has he arrived yet? No.

Senator Murphy, thank you for your leadership. Welcome back to the House side. We're proud of all of our Members who have gone from the House to the Senate. And Chris Murphy makes us proud on so many issues, and the leadership on this one is just so, so important to the cause. Senator Murphy of Connecticut.