Speeches
Pelosi: You Keep America Strong by Ensuring Its Cities Remain Our Nation’s Places of Hope and Opportunity
03/11/2008
“Thank you for that kind introduction, President Cynthia
McCollum. Your service to the Madison
City Council has strengthened your community; under your leadership the
National League of Cities is strengthening our entire nation.
“I join you in offering deepest condolences to the city of
“Local leaders are the unsung heroes of
“Your work is guided by progress, not partisanship. As you say, ‘there are no Republicans or
Democratic potholes to be repaired – just potholes.’
“In that regard, I come here today to reaffirm our
partnership to keep
“To keep
“
“I come here today with the commitment of Congress to make
first responders and the security of
“Once again this year, President Bush is proposing to slash
critical Homeland Security programs for first responders.
“For example, the President proposes slashing State Homeland
Security Grants which fund first responders by 79 percent, Firefighter
Assistance Grants by 46 percent, and he proposes completely eliminating the
$190 million SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) program,
which helps localities hire needed fire and emergency response personnel.
“The Democratic budget we will pass this week rejects all of
these cuts, and will continue to work with you to provide the resources
“To keep
“To keep
“This year, we will spend about $5.5 billion on total cancer
research, or the cost of about two weeks of the war in
“A healthier
“A healthier
“A healthier
“As NIH Director Elias Zerhouni told me, our health care
system is structured to deal with the effects of poor health – not to ensure
and maintain good health. It is as if,
he said, in the 1950’s we had decided to treat polio by creating the best iron
lung, rather than a vaccine. We need to
focus on diet, not diabetes, and prevention not amputation.
“None of the success we want to have in health care is
possible without trained, highly skilled personnel. By investing in nurses, doctors, and other
health care providers, we can have a healthier
“To keep
“That means reinvesting in our crumbling highways, levies,
dams, and bridges and renewing our commitment to mass transit. These solutions create jobs for
“Tomorrow, House Democratic Leadership is holding a forum
with national experts on infrastructure.
Foremost in our minds will be your role in this debate, as state and
local governments own and operate the vast majority of our nation's
transportation infrastructure, including more than 75 percent of the four
million mile highway and road network, 90 percent of transit systems, and close
to 300,000 bridges.
“The federal share for investment in infrastructure has
declined over time. This places your communities
in an increasingly difficult position.
Congress and the Administration must step back up to the plate,
recognizing that infrastructure is a long-term and ongoing investment.
“In the next Congress, we will take up the reauthorization
of the Surface Transportation bill. We
must produce a robust bill that strengthens our economy, reinforces the
transition to a low-carbon economy, and increases the safety of the traveling
public.
“Investing in infrastructure in the 21st century also means
expanding broadband access across
“For example, the citizens of
“Similar initiatives are happening in Fort Wayne, Indiana;
Tacoma, Washington; my home town of San Francisco, California and coast to
coast.
“Again, in solving our infrastructure challenge there is
job-creating opportunity—to reinvigorate the American economy.
“To keep
“At the end of last year, our landmark energy legislation
boosted fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks for the first time in 32
years.
“Last month, we built on that success with the ‘Renewable
Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act.’
It invests in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, lower
energy costs, strengthen national security, reduce global warming, and grow our
economy and create hundreds of thousands of good-paying green collar new jobs.
“In my travels as Speaker, I have seen this firsthand. For example, when a particular steel plant
closed in
“Just last week in
“In your own cities, I know you have similarly cutting-edge
greening efforts happening right now.
“In the budget the House will pass this week, we make a
strong commitment to renewable energy with funding $1.2 billion above the
President’s request for energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives –
including energy efficiency block grants.
“In our clean energy revolution, we have the opportunity to
create green jobs for Americans and reinvigorate our economy.
“As you hear every day, Americans are feeling great economic
uncertainty, and the increasing challenge of balancing the ballooning expenses
of gas, health care, and groceries.
“With those concerns in mind, Congress passed bipartisan
economic stimulus legislation to provide tax relief of up to $600 per
individual and $1200 per married couple, plus an additional $300 per
child.
“132 million households will receive these recovery rebate
checks, including 35 million families who work but make too little to pay
income taxes.
“In my home state of California, for example, 14.7 million
people will be receiving rebates worth a total of $12.4 billion.
“But that is just a first step. We must address the sub-prime crisis, and
deal with the collapse of credit markets.
We must tackle how that affects localities and hits home for American
families.
“As we move forward, we will work to develop a plan to
assist states and localities so that you can continue to provide the services
your constituents rely on, particularly during an economic downturn. While the details have not been worked out,
there is a case for providing different levels of assistance to different
regions of the country based on the help that is needed.
“When Americans are feeling economically insecure, you are
the first to know, hearing straight from your constituents in what President
McCollum calls ‘tap on the shoulder’ moments.
“You have all had these moments – at the grocery store, at
your child’s soccer game, in the doctor’s office – when you feel a tap on your
shoulder by a constituent with a concern.
“These are constituents who are worried about crime in their
neighborhoods, or schools for their children, or economic opportunity in their
city.
“And when they tap, you get to work to keep
"Thank you."