Pelosi: It's Been A Good Week

By Courtney Ann Jackson

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) didn’t fly solo at her weekly press conference held Friday. She was joined by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and U.S. Rep, Christopher Van Hollen (D-Md.). Pelosi said they decided to combine her weekly press conference with “wrap-up” for the first five months. She said many times that this has been a “good week.”

“It was a good week on the energy policy. It’s also been a good week as week protect the environment; a good week as we protect the consumer, the tax payer and the American people, in general, in terms of their national security, ” said Pelosi.

Pelosi also said that legislation on issues such as housing, credit cards and saving the tax payers money were passed during the week that all “protect the consumer.”

Hoyer said the 111th Congress has made “tremendous strides to create jobs and get the economy back on track.” He closed by saying that he and Pelosi considered themselves to be a “close team” that is carrying out the promise of change that the “American people voted for.”

Although Pelosi and the other Democratic leaders wanted to discuss the new direction that the administration is taking with the main topics being energy and the economy, she was still asked a question involving the CIA issue. Hoyer attempted to pull Pelosi away from the podium as the question was being asked but she instead insisted on hearing the question.

Pelosi’s response was, “I have made the statement I’m going to make on this. I don’t have anything more to say about it. I stand by my comment.”

She said she would not let the issue distract her and would rather continue on the course of bipartisanship and bettering issues like jobs and health care instead.

Pelosi: “Recovery Act Is A Gift That Keeps On Giving”

By Kayleigh Harvey and Celia Canon

Today, at her weekly press conference, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi brought good news when she announced that $250 checks were on their way to 50 million seniors and disabled veterans. The check is part of the $700 billion The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed by Congress in February 2009.

“The recovery act is a gift that keeps on giving,” Pelosi said, adding that “Right now these checks are in the mail, and in June the checks for the disabled veterans will be there. Of course we hope that this will continue to stimulate the economy as it helps people make ends meet.

“In the past seven days there’s been good news for consumers and taxpayers. We’ve had the Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights which passed at the end of last week. Today we have the Anti-Fraud Bill which contains a Commission to look into how the financial collapse occurred and we can make sure that it doesn’t ever happen again, and tomorrow we will have the Predatory Mortgage Lending Bill. So as part of the President’s initiative to stabilize the economy to protect the taxpayer and the consumer we have three important pieces of legislation,” she said.

Pelosi joked at the end of her address, and said, “Aren’t you glad the first hundred days is over?”

Pelosi on Water-boarding

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Today on Capitol Hill Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi fielded questions on water-boarding and interrogation during her weekly press conference.

Asked about whether or not she raised objections during her time on the House Intelligence Committee during a briefing on interrogation methods, including water-boarding, Pelosi said, “It’s not appropriate for me to talk about what happens at briefings.”

“It’s very interesting that people are talking so freely, but I can say this...we were not and I repeat, we were not told that water-boarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used. What they did tell us was that they had some, the office of legislative council opinions that they could be used...further if and when they would be used they would brief Congress at that time,” said Pelosi.

Pelosi added, “Flat out they never briefed us this was happening. In fact they said they would, if and when they did....they can say whatever they want but the fact is they did not brief us in that regard.”

Pelosi said, “I have questioned the value of the briefings over and over and over again, we only know what they chose to tell us.”

In terms of investigations into the the people who made the decisions to use interrogation methods Pelosi said, “I have always been for a truth commission because I think that this is very important...I don’t think there should be total immunity, I think it should be a case by case basis.”

In closing Pelosi said, “Let me make this clear. These are not glory days for our country in terms of this enhanced interrogation and the rest, and in terms of how information is acquired in our country outside the law. It is clear now that, that has happened.”

Pelosi added, “As a member of the Intelligence Committee I thought I was being briefed, until I became a Senior member and then I realized that the members of the committee are not privy to a great deal of information and that simply is not right.” -

Today at Talk Radio News

Today at the Talk Radio News Service Chief Pentagon Correspondent Meredith MacKenzie is traveling with the Secretary of Defense in Mexico. Supreme Court Correspondent Jay Tamboli will cover a hearing on “Secret Law and Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government.”

The Washington Bureau is covering the weekly pen and pad briefing with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. There will also be a news conference on Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act with Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd. The bureau will also be covering “Credit Crunch Impact on Small Business from the House Small Business Committee and “Visa Backlogs” from the House Judiciary Committee.

There will be a press conference today with Senator Barbara Boxer among others on the Efforts to Modernize Federal Aviation Administration and Protect Consumer Rights that we will be covering. In the afternoon we will have a reporter covering a meeting to discuss “progress on Columbia’s efforts to improve its judicial and human rights record.”