Pelosi: GOP On Their Own In Omnibus Vote

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned GOP leaders in the House that if they plan to vote on a $1 trillion omnibus bill this week, they can do it without the support of House Democrats.

“I hope they have the votes for it, because if they don’t’, they won’t be getting any cooperation from us,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press briefing. 

House Republican leaders are expected to bring the omnibus to the floor without Democratic support. This could be an uphill battle for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) who has had trouble winning the votes of some rank-and-file Republicans on a number of occasions throughout the year. 

With the end of the week fast approaching, the threat of yet another government shutdown looms over Congress. One option that would essentially serve as Plan B for Congress is the potential for passing a short-term continuing resolution that would keep the government funded into next week, giving the legislative body more time to work out their differences with the current payroll package.

Pelosi said that a shutdown was, in fact, possible but that there were many avenues available that would work to avoid it. 

“It’s only a decision that Republicans have to make that they want to avoid a shutdown by coming to the table and coming to their sense about what is fair to get the job done, to get results for the American people, instead of creating a crisis,” Pelosi said. 

Pelosi stood by the White House’s threat to veto the bill, saying “our caucus supports the president if he wants to veto the bill because of some of the provisions that are in there. We won’t be voting for a bill that has them.”

“It’s like someone saying to her fiancé, ‘Yes, I’ll finally marry you, but I can only do that on Feb. 30,’” Pelosi said. “That day is never coming, nor is the day coming when the president will sign the that Republicans passed.” 

Pelosi: GOP Out To Get Middle Class

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Thursday blasted Republican efforts to offset an extension of payroll-tax cuts set to expire at the end of December, but said House Democrats remain open to “reasonable, pay-for” options.

Democrats sought to pay for the tax holiday with a 3.5 percent surtax on incomes exceeding $1 million. Republicans countered by proposing a freeze on federal employees’ salaries and downsizing the federal workforce by cutting 200,000 jobs as a means to pay for the tax break. 

The House’s top Democrat, however, shied away from endorsing Republicans’ proposal, arguing that the offsetting proposal would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs. 

“It doesn’t make any sense, except it is consistent with the Republican principle that they are here for the one percent,” Pelosi said. “But yes, we would certainly be open to reasonable pay-fors for the tax cut.”

Pelosi continued her tirade against GOP efforts to offset the payroll-tax cut and said Republicans “are out to get the middle class.”  

“I don’t know what the middle class ever did to the Republicans that they’re so out to get them,” Pelosi said. “But whether it’s job creation, economic growth, the tax code and the rest — the deck is getting stacked against the middle class.”

Pelosi Declines Rick Perry's Debate Proposal

By Janie Amaya

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined Rick Perry’s challenged for a debate next Monday.

Poking some fun at the GOP candidate’s gaffe during a presidential debate last week, Pelosi said her schedule is full and jokingly said she couldn’t remember all of her scheduled engagements on her schedule next Monday.

“Well, he did ask  if I could debate here in Washington on Monday. It is my understanding that such a letter has come in. Monday I’m going to be in Portland in the morning. I’m going to be visiting some of our labs in California in the afternoon- that’s two, I can’t remember what the third thing is,” Pelosi said. 

According to Perry, the unorthodox proposal came after House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) criticized Perry’s “Overhauling Washington” plan.

In a letter to Pelosi, Perry asks if the top Democrat in the House “truly opposes lawmakers spending more time in their districts,” if his plan of cutting Congress’ pay is passed as President.

“A part-time Congress with half the pay would still make $38,000 a year more than the average American family,” Perry said in his letter.

Pelosi Insists She Is Not Being Shunned By Super Committee

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reassured reporters Thursday that she is not being kept out of the loop with a “super committee” that has begun meeting in more frequently in private with a Nov. 23 deadline fast approaching. 

“I don’t believe that I have been cut out of the super committee discussions,” Pelosi said. “The three people that we have sent to the table have my trust and confidence and that of our caucus.”

Pelosi, instead, called on the Republican leadership to provide their members of the super committee the same freedoms liberal members have. 

“I hope that the same discretion and judgement that I have respected my members with is one that is shared by my Republican colleagues,” she said. “I believe that if they have the same freedom, we have a better chance of getting the job done.”

Recent reports have indicated that various proposals aimed at reaching the committee’s goal of cutting the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion have been discussed privately. Though the House’s top Democrat insisted she was not being excluded from the deliberations, she did not stop short of criticizing the manner in which these discussions have taken place. 

“It cannot be a product of secrecy,” Pelosi said. “At some point, the discussion has to be more public.”

Pelosi Calls For Immediate, Bipartisan Action On Jobs Bill

By Andrea Salazar, Janie Amaya, Adrianna McGinley

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged both Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and fellow Democratic leaders Friday to take immediate action addressing key points in the president’s jobs proposal.

Calling the president’s jobs plan a “masterful” proposal, Pelosi stressed the urgency to pass legislation with bipartisan support, noting that other ideas are welcome depending on public response.

“One thing that we were very happy about is that [the President] would be taking it to the public,” Pelosi said. “Their feedback on it would further validate the need, or other proposals they may have on it, but at the end of the day, which is a short day, we will have legislation passed that addresses many of the proposals that the president put forth.”

President Obama, in a speech to a joint session of Congress Thursday, laid out a $447 billion plan to create jobs. He emphatically pushed legislators to take action, saying over a dozen times, “pass this jobs plan.”

Pelosi reiterated the president’s call to action, noting the lack of effective legislative action so far.

“What I do know is that the ideas that have been put forth thus far in the nearly 250 days that the Republicans have had the majority have not created one job,” she said.

Pelosi also acknowledged the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the reported terror plot but was unable to comment on details of the briefing.