Speeches
Pelosi and Reid Deliver the Democratic View of the State of Our Union
01/25/2008
A New Direction to Reinvigorate the American Economy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
“Thank you, Donna for that kind introduction. I congratulate the National Press Club on its
100th anniversary.
“It is an honor to once again join Leader Reid to offer the
Democratic view on the state of the union.
“As Speaker of the House, I am proud of the work the 110th
Congress has done to restore faith in our democracy by: enacting landmark
lobbying and ethics reform; reasserting Congressional oversight; and restoring
fiscal responsibility.
“Now, we must strengthen Americans’ faith in the economy.
Economy / Stimulus Package
“Yesterday, House Democrats and Republicans reached a
bipartisan agreement to immediately jumpstart the slowing economy.
“The plan provides working Americans who are struggling in
these difficult economic times with timely, targeted and temporary relief. Because of this effort, more than 100 million
American families will soon receive, what I call, ‘recovery rebates.’
“The package also gives families a second chance at the
American dream of homeownership by helping them refinance and avoid
foreclosure.
“The House will move quickly to approve this package which
will provide broad-based help to the middle class and those aspiring to it,
will create jobs, and will stimulate the economy.
“If there is any doubt of the need for immediate action on
our stimulus package to strengthen middle-class families, consider the story of
Floreese Feaster of Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Floreese works full-time in customer service for a major
telecommunications company, yet she worries that her paycheck will not stretch
far enough to cover rising gas prices.
Floreese’s five-year old son even offered to loan her $9 from his piggy
bank to help fill up the family car. She
turned him down, she said, because she already owed his piggy bank $50.
“Americans like Floreese deserve an economy that rewards
their hard work, helps them provide for their families, and renews the American
dream for their children. That is why
the House will act quickly and decisively to put recovery rebates in the hands
of hard-working Americans.
Long-Term Challenges
“While 2008 is a time to get America’s economy moving again,
it is also a year when Americans will select new leadership for our future.
“I know Americans will find the leadership they seek among
our outstanding Democratic candidates. But
we cannot wait for the next presidential election to address long-term
challenges.
“We have already begun to chart a New Direction to
strengthen our economy and create jobs for the middle class. We increased the minimum wage for the first
time in 10 years. We advanced our
Innovation Agenda to make serious and sustained investments in research and
development, and promote the public-private partnerships that will develop
high-risk, high-reward ideas into marketable technologies.
“We must continue to chart a New Direction for our economy
that creates new, knowledge-based jobs as we tackle every major challenge:
bringing innovation to education; promoting better health care for all
Americans; rebuilding our infrastructure; and addressing the climate crisis and
global warming.
“We must bring an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit to
the work of government and make fiscally sound investments that will pay
dividends for the future.
Education
“For education, we will chart a New Direction where
innovation not only begins in the classroom, but where innovation will also
change the classroom and the way children learn.
“We must ensure that students are prepared for a globalized
world and workplaces that will increasingly require them to work in teams,
collaborating across companies, communities and continents. We must ensure that our children are not just
learning basic skills but critical thinking and the ability to apply knowledge
to new challenges.
“To begin this effort, we must leapfrog over old arguments
about testing and encourage and invest in more innovation so that the students
of today will be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow here at home.
“We began this work with our Innovation Agenda which
launched a new commitment to encouraging students and ensuring highly-qualified
teachers in the fields of math, science and engineering.
“We are making college more affordable for all students to
ensure that we have a new generation of innovators.
“We began this work by enacting the largest expansion of
student aid since the GI Bill in 1944.
We cut student loan rates in half and boosted Pell Grants.
“This year, we will continue that work through
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which will continue to address the
rising cost of college and reshape our higher education system.
Health Care
“For health care, we will chart a New Direction where every
American has access to quality affordable health care to create a healthier
America.
“A healthier America means a major investment in basic
biomedical research, while ensuring universal access to its discoveries.
“For example, this year, we will spend about $5.5 billion on
total cancer research – the cost of two weeks in Iraq. Every year, cancer kills nearly 560,000
Americans – more than 1,500 Americans each day.
“Imagine the progress for our families, our economy, and our
future, if we doubled our investment in cancer research.
“A healthier America means a common electronic medical record
for every American from birth on – to reduce mistakes, lower costs, and improve
health care.
“A healthier America means personalized care: every American
should get care customized to their needs, not one size fits all. We must remove the disparity in health care.
“A healthier America means mental health parity, especially
important to our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“A healthier America must contain a strong component of
prevention.
“None of the success we want to have in health care is
possible without trained, highly skilled personnel. By making these investments in nurses,
doctors, and other health care providers, we can have a healthier America and,
by creating jobs here at home for the middle class, a healthier American
economy.
Infrastructure
“For our nation, we will chart a New Direction where we
renew America’s infrastructure and rebuild it in a way that is greener and
helps confront the climate crisis.
“Two hundred years ago, in 1808, Thomas Jefferson charged
his Treasury Secretary, Albert Gallatin, with drafting a plan to develop
America’s infrastructure, works like the Erie Canal and the Cumberland Road, to
take advantage of a nation that was growing thanks to the Louisiana Purchase
and the Lewis and Clark expedition.
“A century later, in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt launched a
similar commitment when he convened a White House Conference on Conservation to
stress the importance of preserving America’s natural beauty. That led to the creation of the National Park
Service and helped a growing America remain a green America.
“In 2008, in keeping with the traditions of these great
American leaders, we must keep America growing while making America greener.
“That means reinvesting in our crumbling highways and
bridges and renewing our commitment to mass transit, solutions which will
create jobs for the middle class. It
also means expanding broadband access across America, and particularly to rural
communities.
“Again, in our infrastructure challenge there is
job-creating opportunity – to reinvigorate the American economy.
Global Warming
“Global warming is the issue upon which this generation of
leaders will be judged by posterity.
Only this generation can make the changes needed in time to avert a
crisis that our children and grandchildren will otherwise have to face.
“We must build on last year’s landmark energy legislation
that increased energy saving standards for lighting and appliances and boosted
fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks for the first time in 32
years. We will take the next step by
creating a cap-and-trade system to help protect our planet.
“In our clean energy revolution, we have the opportunity to
train Americans for green jobs – here at home – to reinvigorate our economy.
“These commitments, taken together, represent more than just
a Democratic decision in favor of the future.
Americans embrace this vision as their own.
“Our nation has the resources – both the human resources and
the financial resources – to meet these challenges and strengthen and expand
the middle class. We only require the
will to make this vision a reality.
“As Leader Reid will discuss, we need to restore America’s
leadership in the world, and we truly need a new direction in Iraq.
“For the cost of one day in Iraq – $330 million – we could
fund nearly 1,000 NIH research grants to find cures and treatments for the
deadliest and most debilitating diseases.
“For the cost of about one week in Iraq, we could provide
400,000 young Americans with a scholarship for a full year at a public
university.
“For the cost of just over one month in Iraq, we could
provide health care to 10 million American children for an entire year.
“It is not a matter of resources. It is a matter of making the right choice for
America.
“Leader Reid and I both salute our brave men and women in
uniform. They have performed their
duties excellently and with great courage.
As they return home, they will find improved health care thanks to the
largest investment in veterans’ health care in the 77-year history of the VA.
“Yet, we owe our veterans even more. We owe them our best efforts to build a
future that is worthy of their enormous sacrifice.
“Thank you.”
* * *
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
“Growing up in Searchlight, Nevada, my mother placed a
pillow case on our wall. It was royal blue with gold fringe, with the
words ‘we can, we will, we must.’ The
name below those words -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“For children of my generation from working class families
like mine – this was not uncommon.
“FDR was a figure of moral strength to us for what he
accomplished at home and throughout the world.
“What I didn't know at the time was that this reverence for
President Roosevelt extended far beyond our little Searchlight home. Beyond my State of Nevada. Beyond even the shores of my country.
“Upon President Roosevelt’s death, Mrs. Roosevelt received a
letter from Erma Mohrenwitz, a Jewish woman driven by Hitler’s terror from her
home in Europe to refuge in Mexico City.
“She wrote to the First Lady: ‘The spirit of [Roosevelt's]
personality will bring enlightenment to all those who carry the heaviest
burden. And it will be a consolation and
an example to suffering men and women all over the world.”
“A boy from Searchlight, a European refugee in Mexico City,
and millions of others throughout the world were bound together by faith that
in the crosscurrents of a dangerous world America's moral compass would always
point due north.
“As we await President Bush’s final State of the Union
address Monday night we know one thing for sure: that cherished faith in
America has been greatly diminished and with it, our ability to respond to the
critical challenges that threaten our security.
“158,000 young Americans rise each morning in the deserts of
Iraq to face another day of risk they cannot predict and hatred they did not
create.
“Osama Bin Laden remains free and the Al Qaeda network grows
stronger.
“Afghanistan, once hailed as a great success, continues to
backslide into violence, extremism, and a rampant drug trade.
“The path toward democracy in Pakistan wavers, with billions
of American anti-terrorism dollars unaccounted.
“And the moral authority of our great nation has suffered
grave damage.
Restoring America’s Moral Leadership
“Our first goal as a country must be to restore that moral
authority with what the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International
Studies calls ‘America’s Smart Power.’
“The most effective way to fight terrorism is to harness all
of our power – military, economic, and moral.
When we do, the world will follow our lead once again.
“It may take years. But when President Bush delivers
his State of the Union address Monday night, he can take the first steps.
“He can start by announcing America does not torture.
“Democrats call on him to support one standard of
interrogation for the entire United States government, to renounce
waterboarding, and to finally commit to closing Guantanamo.
“President Bush could also show true leadership Monday night
by announcing plans to expand our Foreign Service, our Peace Corps, and our
funding for international development.
“Our team of Foreign Service officers serving throughout the
entire world stands at just 7,000, or about the size of the crew of just one
U.S. aircraft carrier. In 2002,
President Bush pledged to double the size of the Peace Corps. Today it stands just 8,000 strong – barely
larger than in 2002. The President’s
promise of 15,000 remains unfulfilled.
“Why does this matter?
These Foreign Service officers and Peace Corps volunteers are the
patriots who spread hope across the globe, which makes America stronger.
“Just one example: on a recent trip to Central America I met
former members of American gangs who had been deported back to Guatemala. When they returned there they were reformed
with the help of an American-sponsored rehabilitation program.
“They told me of the countless lives – both American and
Guatemalan – that this program has changed and saved. How much does it
cost to start one gang prevention center like we saw? Just $16,000.
“Why should Americans care about these Guatemalan
gangs? For one reason, because they are
networks of the very same gangs we have in our country. Gang violence in Latin America leads to gang
violence here.
“The average cost of incarcerating a prisoner in an American
jail is $35,000 per year. If that program in Guatemala kept just one
person out of an American prison it saved us twice what it cost.
“For a modest price, programs like this one save lives,
build long-term global allies, and make America safer. That's why we were troubled to discover that
funding for this gang prevention program ended in December.
“We should not let programs like these shut down. We should be expanding them to parts of the
world where poverty and oppression form the breeding grounds of terrorism.
“Everywhere I traveled in Mexico, Central and South America
last year, I met with people and their leaders thirsty for America to stand
with them once again.
“Cuba and Venezuela are sending teachers, doctors, and
subsidized oil to those countries.
America is sending them little.
“Can there be any question why our influence has waned?
“It’s also long past time for America to lead – not follow –
on energy security and global warming.
“We call on President Bush to announce in his speech Monday
night that America – always the land of innovation – will invest more to
harvest renewable energy sources here at home and fight carbon emissions.
“If we show the world that we are giving this crisis the
attention and investment it deserves others will do the same.
“And the sooner we begin investing in renewable fuels, the
sooner we can end our reliance on unstable regions and unfriendly governments
for their oil.
“The next time the leader of an oil nation calls us a menace
– as one did in 2006 – we should be able to tell him to keep his oil. The day we become energy independent is the
day we can.
“I would be remiss if I did not briefly mention the debate
over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill – FISA.
“Democrats have and will always give our intelligence
professionals the tools they need to keep ups safe without compromising the
privacy of law-abiding Americans.
“With a temporary law about to expire, Republicans must
start working with us on a reasonable solution.
That means passing a short-term extension of the current law so that no
intelligence activities are interrupted while we work out a better long-term
solution.
“These steps – diplomacy, development, and moral leadership
– will restore America’s Smart Power.
Strengthening Our Armed Forces
“That is crucial, but by no means sufficient. The next
step is to strengthen our Armed Forces to better address the challenges that
can’t be won without the threat or use of force.
“There is no doubt that our military is the strongest in the
world. Our troops conduct every mission with courage and skill. But foreign policy failures have caused a
crisis in military readiness and that has left us less secure.
“General Colin Powell put it best last year when he said
‘the active Army is about broken.’
“When President Bush took office in 2001, every Army
division was ready to fight. Today, not
a single non-deployed active duty or reserve brigade is considered fully combat
ready. That leaves us with practically no strategic reserve for the next
unexpected crisis.
“The strain of combat is wearing out at least $1 billion a
month worth of weapons, vehicles, and other equipment.
“And our courageous National Guard is forced to do their
jobs here at home with less than 50% of the equipment they need because much of
it has been sent to Iraq.
“The strain on our troops is one of the least noticed, yet
most troubling aspects of the war. Recent studies show that more than
about 40% of Guard and Reserves return home from Iraq in need of mental health
treatment.
“One out of every six Iraq and Afghanistan veterans show
symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Those numbers are staggering. We have a moral obligation – and a
national security imperative – to take better care of those who serve us.
“That starts with reversing the drain of troops into Iraq --
but it doesn't end there. Last year, Democrats proposed a simple plan:
that every service man and woman must receive a period of rest and training
equal to their time abroad. Twelve months deployed, 12 months at home.
“Republicans blocked our plan. But we will give them another chance this
year to do the right thing.
“Last year, Democrats passed the largest-ever increase in
veterans’ health care funding. We have
already made right the terrible living conditions for outpatients at Walter Reed. And we are funding research and treatment for
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other serious conditions to make sure our
troops are not left to suffer alone.
“But we must do more. We will work this year to
deliver our troops a new GI Bill that provides 21st century education benefits
in gratitude for their service.
“We look to the President and Congressional Republicans to
join us, not block us.
“When we restore our moral authority and rebuild our
military we can more effectively address the global threats that have been
overlooked for far too long.
Iraq
“When the President delivers his State of the Union three
days from now, we already know what he will say about Iraq.
“He’ll tell us the war has turned a corner and that victory
is in sight. We first heard those words
on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in front of a banner that said
‘Mission Accomplished’ five years ago.
We have heard them in every subsequent State of the Union speech.
“But five years, nearly 4,000 deaths and half a trillion
dollars later, the mission is still not accomplished.
“All Americans cheer the reduced violence we are now seeing
in parts of Iraq. But President Bush said clearly the purpose of the
troop surge was to give the Iraqi government space for political progress.
“General Petraeus himself has said that Iraq’s problems can
only be solved politically, not militarily. But the Iraqi government has
done very little with the window we have provided them.
“Now, some Republicans are talking about staying in Iraq for
50 or even 100 years while President Bush wants to cut a deal that will
guarantee our presence well past his term.
“The President is on notice: he cannot do that
unilaterally. Any long-term deal must meet the approval of Congress. And the majority of this Congress wants to
responsibly end the war so that we can turn to other critical challenges. Like Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
“Before the rubble of September 11th was cleared, we joined
forces with our global allies to drive Al Qaeda out of Afghanistan and restore
freedom to its people.
“Democrats and Republicans stood together to support that
war. And for some time, it seemed to be a success.
“But the President and his Republican allies squandered that
opportunity to bring the entire world together to wage a truly global war on
terrorism. Now, with a diminished focus
and inadequate resources in Afghanistan, progress is threatened by exploding
violence. The drug trade is running rampant. And today, 2,327 days
since 9/11, the world's number-one terrorist – Osama Bin Laden – remains free.
“Our government’s 16 intelligence agencies speak with one
voice when they say that the Al Qaeda threat is growing. Democrats say it's long past time to finally
answer that threat.
“We call upon President Bush to immediately double the
number of intelligence and special operations teams engaged in the hunt for Bin
Laden and Al Qaeda. With focus and
discipline, that is a fight we can win.
Pakistan
“We also hope to hear of a new approach to Pakistan on
Monday. This week, several Senators and
I met with leading Pakistani reformers.
They agreed with our view that a return to democracy in Pakistan is
crucial to the fight against extremism.
“That must include: restoring an independent judiciary;
allowing international observers for the February 18th elections; and
initiating an independent investigation into the Bhutto assassination.
“In Pakistan and throughout the world, we should invest in
the people and their struggle for freedom – not solely in one man or one
leader.
“If the leader of a nation derails the path toward democracy
we must make it clear to that leader that our diplomatic and financial backing
are on the line.
Iran
“We also hope to hear on Monday that President Bush will
take a new approach in Iran. He should
commit to following the lead of President Reagan during the Cold War: that
though diplomacy may not guarantee progress, silence guarantees acrimony.
“We must not be afraid to communicate with unfriendly
countries. This is not a sign of weakness – but of strength.
“President Bush should be sending Secretary Rice and
Secretary Gates to meet with their Iranian counterparts. The first topic of conversation should be
preventing incidents like the speedboat encounter just weeks ago.
“We are certainly not naive enough to think that talks will
solve every problem.
“But we firmly believe that
“Finally the President has become engaged in
“Democrats believe that the age of ‘shoot first, talk never’
foreign policy cannot end soon enough.
“We believe that although some of our conflicts will be
resolved on the battlefield – and we will always win those – most will be won
in hearts and minds.
“More than three years ago – the day the 9/11 Commission
report was released – Commission Chairman Tom Kean and Vice-Chairman Lee
Hamilton met with Congressional leaders.
“I asked them, ‘Who are these terrorists, and what can we do
about them?’
“They told me that there are just a few thousand who are
intent on doing us harm. They can’t be
rehabilitated or deterred. They must be
killed or captured.
“But they are not our only concern. We must be concerned as well with the
millions who sympathize with them. It
was clear to me then that we must convince those millions of the goodness of
“If we fail this war on terrorism will become a
multi-generational struggle left to our children and grandchildren to
wage. But if we succeed, we can banish terrorism to the darkest caves and
crevices on earth.
“That success won’t happen over night. But it won’t
happen at all without the moral leadership of the President of the
“Perhaps on Monday, President Bush will show that
leadership. Perhaps he will take some of
the steps I have discussed. If so, we
extend our hand to him and all Republicans.
“But no matter what direction the President takes this year,
Democrats will keep fighting for change so that children in Searchlight, in