Transcript of Pelosi Press Conference Today

Contact: Ashley Etienne/Caroline Behringer, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference today on ‘Bring Your Children to Work Day.' Below is a transcript of the press conference.

Leader Pelosi. Welcome, children. We always do what we do here in recognition of our responsibility to our children. As you know, Washington is a place so dedicated to honoring our Founders, and you see monuments and statues throughout the city and throughout the Capitol complex to that end, and we do revere our Founders and are grateful for their leadership and their vision.

But what we do here, which is part of our Founders' vision, is to work for the future. So you are our inspiration, you are our purpose. So thank you for being here today and for being a constant inspiration as to what our purpose is and our responsibility to our children.

Our Founders predicated their optimism on the fact that every generation would take responsibility to make the future better for the next generation. So honoring the vows of our Founders and committed to the aspiration of our children, I welcome you. Thank you for coming. Thank you for coming.

And maybe we'll break some rules today by having some questions from the kids, but we're going to have our own press opportunity upstairs later.

So I know that you may be interested, in addition to the fact that this is Bring Your Children to Work Day, that negotiations continue on the omnibus package. We are committed to keeping government open. Our major concerns in the negotiation have been about funding for the wall and uncertainty about the CSR payment, crucial to the stability of the marketplaces in the Affordable Care Act. We have made some progress in both of those areas.

More progress, though, needs to be made on some of our priorities. And we continue to be concerned about the poison pills, riders that are still in the legislation, including those that undermine a woman's right to comprehensive health care, undermine Dodd Frank's protections for American consumers, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and overall in the fiduciary rule, which undermines the commitment that we have to investors, especially seniors, so that the person advising them is operating in their interest.

So these are all rules that, again, are not in the interest of protecting consumer and individual rights that we are fighting.

As you all know, Saturday is a big day, the 100th day of the Trump administration, 100 days of broken promises to working people, 100 days of handouts to the wealthiest people in our country.

All this week, House and Senate Democrats have been leading daily actions highlighting the stark reality of President Trump's conduct. Some people have asked me what grade I would give him. We could take it subject by subject.

Broken promises on jobs and infrastructure, F. We haven't seen a jobs bill. We haven't seen an infrastructure bill for all the talk. F. Broken promises on America's health care, F minus, because that truly well, I'll go more into that later as to why F minus.

Broken promises to drain the swamp, stacking the deck in his Cabinet with lobbyists. He said he was going to fire Wall Street, and yet, again, he's hired them into his Cabinet against the interest of the public, dismantling net neutrality that will chill competition, hurt consumers, and punish entrepreneurs; destroy the openness and dynamism of the internet.

Everyplace you look you will see something that undermines openness, transparency, consumer rights. And everyplace you look you will see, whether it's the health care, a tax bill, or whatever it is, something that extracts money from the middle class to the wealthiest people.

Broken promises to working families. So drain the swamp, F, too, yeah. Broken promises to working families and promises kept to the wealthy few. That's what he has done. It's everyplace.

Attacking clean air, clean water for our children. He said we're going to have clean air and clean water, and what does he do, undermine the EPA. Unleashing Wall Street, dismantling Americans' privacy on the internet, as I mentioned, undermining American values.

So we were very pleased Monday, we were on the phone with some of you, [Democratic Leader] Chuck Schumer and I and [Democratic National Committee] Chairman Perez, talking about the overarching Promises Made, Promises Broken. Each day we've had – Jobs Tuesday, Health Care Wednesday. Today, as we speak, maybe it's still going on, Draining the Swamp, led from our side by Elijah Cummings. And then tomorrow, I hope you'll join us, Chuck [Schumer] and I, on the broken promises to working families.

Democrats believe that every day we must be about job creation for everyone, everywhere in our country. But Republicans have spent the first 100 days trying to weaken working families and even put more money in the pockets of the wealthiest people in our country.

So yesterday was the big day for the tax plan. Did you see it? Here it is, the tax plan, one page. But I must say, the first third of the page is grow the economy and create jobs. I mean, it's like descriptions, but not provisions. Thank God it's small, because every word of it is about tax breaks for the high end, trickle down economics.

There's room for bipartisan tax reform. We've said this over and over. We stand ready to come together for simplification, for fairness, to come together to lower the corporate rate, if that gets corporations to pay their taxes. So lower the corporate rate, to go forward in a way.

When our Members go to the table to discuss this, they have no instruction from me. They know the values of our Caucus. The only thing I say to them is put growth at the middle of the table, economic growth to create good paying jobs. Wherever the suggestions come, be agnostic. From the right, from the left, wherever they come from, if they grow the economy, create good paying jobs, and reduce the deficit, we're there.

But instead the Republicans are focusing on – the President, instead of focusing on hardworking families, his tax outline is a wish list for billionaires. Trickle down all over again, and guess who it's trickling all over?

In 2005 alone, the only year that we have the President's tax information – get this – the President's plan would have changed his – he would have paid $30 million less. In that year he paid, whatever his taxes were, this proposal he's putting forth would have reduced his tax bill by $30 million. He would be paying $5 million instead of $35 million.

The scant handful of specifics overwhelmingly cut taxes for the richest, do little for the middle class and those trying to aspire to the middle class, and could explode the deficit – are you ready for this – $5.5 trillion. Tax breaks to the rich, same old, same old, warmed over stew of trickle down economics, all to the advantage of the high end at the expense of working families and to increase the deficit $5.5 trillion. It doesn't meet any of the standards I talked about earlier, that it creates growth, good paying jobs, and reduces the deficit.

America cannot afford another Republican tax plan that hands billions of dollars in tax breaks to the richest on the backs of the middle class.

I said earlier I'd get back to the health care, F minus, health care plan. The same billionaire first agenda drives America's health bill, raises America's health costs, deductibles, and out of pockets, while handing a $600 billion tax break to the richest people in our country; again, an extraction of wealth from the middle class on up.

TrumpCare, again, means higher cost, 24 million people losing health coverage, gutting key protections, a crushing age tax for those 50 to 64, and stealing from Medicare.

And this week, to make matters worse, the Republicans unveiled their plan to make TrumpCare even more cruel and more costly. House Republicans' latest version of TrumpCare means heart stopping premium increases for Americans with anything from asthma to cancer, the whole list of diagnoses.

Gutting essential health benefits and protections for pre existing conditions, giving the states the right to withhold coverage for pre existing conditions. And if they were to get them, they would be so astronomically expensive. And it would enable insurance companies to charge whatever they wanted for them, if they could even get the health coverage that loved ones so desperately need.

The monstrous immorality, as I call the TrumpCare, is perfectly encapsulated in the House Republicans' early attempt. Can you believe this, that they put out a bill the other day that exempted Members of Congress' own health coverage from the damage that it would do to everyone else, which in the face of public outrage they're now backing off of. But the nerve that they would have.

They still have in the bill that insurance company executives can make more money. We had limitation on what they could deduct for the CEO pay, and they, in this bill, give a bigger break to the executives of the health insurance industry and at the same time exempt Members of Congress from the nastiness of their own bill.

But, again, public sentiment is everything, thank you, Abraham Lincoln, the public outrage on this. Now I think they're trying to make a change to the bill. Lord knows how many more changes they will make to the bill.

What you see in the GOP haste to pass the bill and Trump trying to cram it down in the last 100 days, I think President Trump is really making fools of the Members of Congress of his own party. He's asking them to vote for a bill that is wildly unpopular in the country, is the wrong thing to do, first and foremost, is going to be doo doo stuck to their shoe for a long time to come, and with terrible consequences to the American people.

So with that, I'd be pleased to take any questions you may have.

Yes, sir?

Q: That was a pretty long list of indictments on Trump's policy proposals.

Leader Pelosi. Right. Yes, sir.

Q: Is there anything you've seen in the 100 days that encourages you or you think he's learning or getting better this week?

Leader Pelosi. This was a modified list. But time does not permit me to go into detail on all of the other things. Did I say that he promised we're going to rid the world of terrible diseases and then cut $6 billion out of the National Institutes of Health? I barely went into his budget where he promised infrastructure and cuts billions of dollars from the Transportation Department.

Is there anything that I have seen –

Q: You were supportive on Syria.

Leader Pelosi. On Syria, well, on foreign policy in general, I think that the President is playing with fire when he's talking about North Korea. We have to exhaust every diplomatic remedy as far as our global involvement to keep the American people – for global security, for American security, and for the oath we take, to honor the oath we take.

So I would hope that the President would listen to those who are cautioning for being more temperate in his saber rattling in places like that.

In terms of Syria, what I said after Syria is, we're very sad about those children and families that were affected by the sarin attack. We have children all over the world, and a million and a half children in the next 6 months alone in Africa will die of malnutrition. Many millions of more will have their growth stunted for lack of food and nutrition.

In our own country, one in four or five children goes to sleep hungry at night and lives in poverty. So I'm glad that he was moved by the children of Syria. We all have been. And it would be nice if he would be moved to allow them into the country instead of having a restriction on those refugees from Syria coming into this, especially if they are Muslim.

So there's so many inconsistencies, so many inconsistencies. I'm trying really hard to find something positive. I wonder about – although this morning he had three Tweets. I was thinking he was more of a creature that stalked the night, that these things just came out at night like a vampire, that he tweeted these things. But now it's spread to the morning. So let me think for a while.

Yes, sir?

Q: Thank you. Will Democrats in the House support a continuing resolution to fund the government for a week? And when will you determine whether or not that time is going to be used for negotiating a longer deal or if the leadership is going to be passing – trying to pass their healthcare bill?

Leader Pelosi. Thank you. We had long ago decided that the only reason we would support an extension with the CR is if we are ready for the bill, that we have come to agreement, and then it's just a matter of writing it up and passing it on the floor of the House and of the Senate.

So that is more a period of implementation, not of decision-making. We've been having this debate for a long time. We still have outstanding areas of concern – Puerto Rico, disaster assistance, issues that relate to – well, it's a long list. Do I have the list here?

And then we have the poison pills. I don't know if they gave me the poison pill list, because you might ask for it. But the poison pill list is still a considerably long list that we have to get rid of.

So to your point, our position had been, if we're ready, we'll give it another week to implement. But if it's just more time kicking the can down the road to have these same back and forth and unknowns injected into the debate, we're not there.

Since we said that, up until yesterday, they have now said, well, the rule that goes forward will also be a rule to advance the President's healthcare bill. Well, they're mixing apples and oranges here, and they are making matters worse.

I assume that they have the votes to pass their extension. We are never going to shut the government down. In fact, we don't even have the power to do so. They have the majority, they have the President, they have the Senate, they have the House. Any shutting down of government, the ball is in their court.

We have not done that. They have a record of doing that on more than one occasion. And it's wrong for our country, and it is an equity that they should be weighing, how bad is this for the country, instead of making our Members walk the plank on health care to complicate the timing on this.

Q: So as of now, the Democrats are not prepared to support the CR in the House?

Leader Pelosi. Well, it depends on what form it takes. You know, we are hoping that we will be able to resolve these differences. In my view, left to their own devices, the Members of the Appropriations Committee I'm an appropriator, I come from that culture, Appropriations and Intelligence, and they are two committees where you strive for bipartisanship as much as possible, and left to their own devices, the appropriators can reach their agreement.

These poison pills usually come from on high. And what I said to the Speaker, who didn't seem to be aware of what these were, that we can't support a bill that has those in there, but I assume you have the votes if you are insisting on them. I don't know that that would pass the Senate, but nonetheless.

But, you know, we have said we're willing some of my Members do not want any CR. They think there has been plenty of time, and they're not going to vote for the CR. But depending on where we are on this bill, I think some will. I will.

Q: Madam Leader, can I just clarify? If Republicans pushed forward with a healthcare vote this week and they tie it to funding the government, do you think they're risking a government shutdown?

Leader Pelosi. I'm not sure they would tie the health care bill to – that would be the height of stupidity – with stiff competition, mind you – but nonetheless the height of stupidity to date. But I don't think they would go to that place.

But what they are doing is tying the rule for the health bill to the rule for the CR, the continuing resolution. It's not a good idea. But they probably have the votes for that. They probably have the votes for that. But the statement that they said that they may be taking up this bill tomorrow or the next day, who knows if they ever have the votes to do it.

But let me just say this: They are in a lose lose lose situation. The President is making them walk the plank on a bill that when they brought it up before it had 17 percent support among the American people. It means even the Republicans were not supporting their bill.

So if they vote on it just bringing it up is not good if they vote on it, the minute they cast that vote, they put doo doo on their shoe, tattoo on their forehead, and they have to explain it to their children. At some point they're going to have to explain it to their children, what did they do to Make America Sick Again.

And then say they pass it, even worse. They really have to be accountable for it, largely unpassable in the Senate, walk the plank for nothing. Thank you, Mr. President.

Now, what he has said, he being the President of the United States, is that maybe he'll let them go until next Wednesday. Article I, the legislative branch, an independent branch of government, the first branch of government, the President hasn't seemed to catch on to the fact that we should be able to have Congress work its will without artificial timetables, bringing bills to the floor before they're ready, ready for the vote and ready for the public to accept.

Yes, sir?

Q: First of all, you referenced a list of poison pills.

Leader Pelosi. No, I didn't – I referenced it, yeah. I didn't read it.

Q: Can we have a copy of that?

Leader Pelosi. No, of course not.

Q: Are you willing to disclose more detail about what it is –

Leader Pelosi. Well, some of them relate to, as I mentioned, overturning the fiduciary rule. Humanizing. That means you're an investor, you depend on an adviser to give you advice on how to invest. And under this fiduciary rule, now the adviser has a responsibility to advise you in your interest, not in his interest.

And you know what, it has a market opportunity. The investment community is thriving on this new fiduciary rule, of fairness to the investor. It has built confidence. So it's a good thing.

But, again, they are a give away to their friends, undermining Dodd Frank with all the vital protections for the American people. They want to take us back. They want to take us back to where we were before the meltdown of our economy in 2008 by eliminating the protections of Dodd Frank.

Undermining women's right to comprehensive health care in the world, in the world, in terms of the Mexico City policy and the rest of that, to name a few. It goes on, clean air, clean water, you name it, they probably have a poison pill for it.

Q: Well, you have more experience in these types of negotiations than some of the people you're dealing with, to include the White House. You gave an assessment here talking about how more progress needs to be made, but you didn't really give your judgment as to whether or not you're optimistic that you're close or you can get it worked out.

Leader Pelosi. Well, I think we will.

Q: And then also, yesterday you were dealing with Mick Mulvaney, like in the morning, and then lo and behold you're dealing with somebody else. What's going on with the people at the White House?

Leader Pelosi. You're asking me what's going on with the people at the White House?

Q: Yeah.

Leader Pelosi. What time of day is it? I mean, nighttime? Daytime?

Let me say this, and I say it here, but let me be clear: Left to their own devices, the appropriators can work this out unless they get from on high some determination that they have to have certain poison pills in the bill. And then assume they have the votes to pass it on their own. Remember, they have the majority to keep government open whatever the bill is, whatever the bill is.

So, yeah, I'm optimistic that we can. I always have been optimistic about it because, again, I have confidence in the appropriators, want to do the right thing by the American people, and they understand each other's priorities, and they understand the limitation of resources that the competition for funds demands.

So, yes, I dealt the night before with, I thought with good will, with Director Mulvaney. And then he said I said we're going to shut down government. Well, first of all, I don't have the power to shut down government. I wouldn't do it. It's not in my value system. I've bailed them out a number of times so that they didn't shut down government.

But he, of all people, should be talking about shutting down government. He was one of the ring leaders of shutting down government when it was shut down for 17 days. You remember? He was one of the ring leaders. And he was one of the scores of Republicans who voted to keep government shut down after the 17 days and the public outcry was such that Speaker Boehner brought the bill to the floor. And we supported their immoral number that they had in the budget, but to open up government we were willing to do that.

And so he's been a champion on shutting down and keeping government shut down, and by the way, not honoring the full faith and credit of the United States of America. But nonetheless, we had a pleasant conversation. He's a former colleague. I wished him well. And I thought we had an understanding, except he made his statement.

But lots of times because you asked about the White House, and then I'm going to have to go when they say something about us, they are projecting their own views. Like the President is saying something I don't know what he's saying today, because he's saying so many different things, some of them contradictory. But always, when he's saying something, he's saying this is what I would do. He's projecting his own bad intentions onto other people. But he doesn't know what our commitment is to the American people, and we would not resort to his standard of performance.

Yes, sir?

Q: Madam Leader, there is a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Republican leadership in the House Appropriations Committee distributed to Republicans describing how they can get earmarks, their own earmarks into bills without raising red flags. And so, in essence, you have a PowerPoint presentation which is a tutorial from Republicans to Republicans with regard to stealth earmarks.

Leader Pelosi. Haven't heard of this.

Q: And I have some of the slides here.

But now, as you know, of course, Speaker Ryan has said there's a moratorium on earmarks. And so I was thinking that perhaps you being an Appropriations Committee Member, you may be able to comment on this apparent contradiction.

Leader Pelosi. Well, I'm unaware of this stealth proposal. It was stealth to me because I haven't heard of it, and I don't know if my colleagues among the House Democrats have. In any event, it didn't rise to a level of importance as we're trying to keep government open.

But let me just say that I don't like the stealth nature of that. I had, when I was Speaker, did not reject legislatively designated projects as long as they were transparent, that they were put online days in advance, identified as to who was putting it forth, and that it was restricted to projects for the cities and counties, et cetera, the areas that people represent, but not for a corporation or something, unless it was something that dealt with national defense and the Defense Department was asking for it.

So with transparency, identification, long term notice, the fact that Congress would exercise its discretion for projects is, to me, a worthy pursuit, not a stealth plan on how we can get it in with nobody noticing.

But it's interesting. I think that the Speaker has quashed that I mean, not that, because I didn't even know about that, but any interest on the part of the Republicans to come forward with, shall we say, what I call legislative designated projects. Some others might call them earmarks. In communities that have benefited them, they call them a blessing, but that's a whole other discussion.

Q: Does that surprise you, that they might have stealth earmarks amongst the Republican caucus?

Leader Pelosi. Nothing surprises me here.

Okay, kids, come up here. Let's get our picture taken. Come on. Let's get up here.

[Children convene for photo]

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