Speaker Pelosi addresses gas prices, veterans

Speaker Pelosi held a press conference today to discuss the current gas price crisis. Speaker Pelosi was insistent that work is being done to address the issue citing many experiences from ordinary Americans and their gas tribulations. She recounted stories from citizens that not only are having trouble finding work near home, but the fact that they then have to drive farther to find work making there income become seemingly non-existent factoring in the gas costs to travel to and from work.

The Speaker also addressed strengthening GI programs. She was adamant about welcoming our veterans home and having appropriate health care and educational programs available to them.

Pelosi rants about high oil prices, tells kids being speaker is “fabulous”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a briefing to speak with children and their parents on “Take Your Kid to Work Day,” but did not pass on an opportunity to allege President Bush of not doing enough to lower high gas prices beforehand.

Pelosi called on the President to suspend purchases of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which she said could lower gas prices from anywhere between 5 to 24 cents a gallon. Speaker Pelosi said that more affordable gas prices would provide our economy with the “critical” first step it needs to rebuild our dreary financial situation.

Watching the Speaker interact with the children at the conference was both humorous and intriguing. Asking simplistic questions, as well as questions that their reporter parents wrote down for them to ask, the children forced Pelosi to discuss everything from her favorite baseball team (she said the San Francisco Giants) to how she would rate our economy on a scale of one to ten (she said, as an “optimist”, it was about a three).

One of the children asked Pelosi who the next President should be and she said “a Democrat.” She told the children that meeting the Pope last week was “thrilling and intellectually challenging” and that freedom of the press was one of the most important aspects of American democracy.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Others Speak at Rally Behind Mental Health Insurance Bill

Non-profit organization Wellstone Action led a rally on the steps of our nation’s capitol building supporting the House passage of a bill ending insurance discrimination against the mentally handicapped. Speakers at the rally included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

The speeches of Pelosi and Hoyer were preceded by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Each speaker urged that the mentally ill should be treated and insured just as other sickly patients are.

The most emotionally stirring sentiments of the afternoon came from former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter, with a distinct soft Southern accent, addressed the crowd with a short speech voicing her satisfaction about finally seeing the bill passed by the House, after years of failed efforts.

Rep. Kennedy was particularly hopeful that the bill would be passed by the President in coming weeks. Pelosi reminded supporters that passage of this bill would help insure that soldiers returning from Iraq could have access to the mental health care they would likely need upon returning from duty.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Addresses Media Following Republican Walk Out

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addressed the media following a walkout of the House staged by Republican Representatives this afternoon, regarding the democrats’ lack of urgency to pass the soon to be expired FISA bill.

Pelosi alleged that the “urgency” Bush stressed in his speech regarding FISA this afternoon, was not as pressing as the President made it seem.

Also, Pelosi noted that Bush “manipulated the facts” with FISA and that the democrats were trying hard to get a bill passed. She stressed her hope that a bi-partisan agreement could be reached as soon as possible.