Nancy Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. Pelosi made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency – the first person to do so in more than six decades. Speaker Pelosi is the chief architect of generation-defining legislation under two Democratic administrations, including the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan. Now in her fourth term as Speaker, Pelosi is fighting For The People: working to lower costs, increase paychecks and create jobs for American families.
Nothing brings more revenue to the Treasury than an investment in our children’s education whether it is early childhood, K-12, higher education, postgraduate, or lifetime learning. We must ensure that access to a high-quality education is the right of every student, not just the privileged few. Under the Democratic Majorities, Congress has acted to help students afford a higher education by increasing the maximum Pell Grant and creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit, assisting graduates in paying back their loans by cutting interest rates in half, and eliminating taxpayer subsidies to banks to reinvest the savings back into students. Democrats remain committed to providing high quality education to all of America’s students and creating a nation ready for the challenges of the 21st century.
In the Majority, House Democrats are working to expand educational opportunities for every student by strengthening our schools, expanding early childhood education initiatives, and modernizing our classrooms. Democrats believe we must work to reduce the achievement gap and create opportunities for students to attain higher education. That is why House Democrats have also introduced the College Affordability Act, a comprehensive overhaul of the higher education system that lowers the cost of college for students and families, improves the quality of higher education through stronger accountability, and expands opportunity by providing students the support and flexibility they need to succeed. We will continue to work relentlessly to improve and expand early learning opportunities, support affordable childcare options and make sure that we have the best trained, most qualified teachers in the world.
Democrats will continue to fight back against the Trump Administration’s outrageous anti-student and anti-worker agenda. Under the leadership of the Education and Labor Committee Chairman, House Democrats will continue to advance bold ideas and legislation to expand access, affordability and pathways to meaningful careers. Even in this period of shrinking federal, state and local budgets, we must work together to ensure that our classrooms are centers of academic excellence and to ensure a strong education is a right afforded to every student.
In strengthening our education system, we will create a thriving, 21st century workforce that will lead emerging industries and ensure America remains a leading economic power on the world stage.
The verdict of science is clear: climate change is real, and its consequences are undeniable. Rising seas, savage droughts, devastating wildfires and increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather patterns are impacting every nation on every continent – and communities across America are already feeling the effects.
Democrats know that combatting the existential threat of the climate crisis is a public health decision to safeguard our clean air and clean water; an economic decision to create jobs and ensure America’s global preeminence in green technology; a national security decision to prevent global instability; and a moral decision to be good stewards of God’s creation.
That is why House Democrats crafted the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis’s Solving the Climate Crisis Action Plan: a roadmap to build a clean energy economy that values workers, creates good-paying jobs, advances environmental justice, and is prepared to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. At the same time, Democrats passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, that makes a strong down payment in a clean energy future, as we create millions of good-paying, union jobs and rebuild our highways, bridges, transit, rail, airports, ports and harbors to improve safety, reduce gridlock and put America on a path to zero pollution. House Democrats also passed H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which required the Trump Administration to remain in the Paris Climate Accord and to develop a serious plan for how the United States will meet its commitment to reduce pollution and protect our planet.
As one of his first actions, President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and re-engaged with the global community on the urgent priority of fighting the climate crisis. Together with the Biden-Harris Administration and the new Senate Democratic Majority, House Democrats will work to Build Back Better: rebuilding America with clean energy, smart technology and resilient infrastructure. We will lead our country into future frontiers with bold, job-creating investments in advanced energy research and efficiency. We will build the green infrastructure of the future with permanent clean energy tax credits that keep up with the rapid pace of technological progress and bring broadband to every corner of America. And we will hold dirty polluters accountable for contaminating our children’s clean water and clean air.
For Democrats, combatting the climate crisis is not an issue – it is a moral imperative that compels us to act to create the good-paying jobs of the future and protect the people and places we love.
In America, the tragedy of gun violence steals the lives of nearly 40,000 people every year – including 47 children and teenagers every single day. Too often, our nation has been forced to console family members & comfort shattered communities. While our grief remains raw and our hearts remain broken, our spirits remain strong.
In communities across the country, we have been blessed and inspired by the strength & persistence of the survivors, their supporters and friends who have turned their grief into courageous action.
To honor their determination and courage, within the first 100 days of our new Democratic Majority, the House of Representatives voted on two long-overdue bills to end the daily horror of gun violence. We proudly passed H.R. 8, which expands background checks to all gun sales to make them universal, and H.R. 1112, which addresses the ‘Charleston Loophole’ that previously allowed gun dealers to sell a firearm to dangerous individuals if the FBI background check had not been completed within three business days. These bipartisan, commonsense bills respect the will of the American people – more than 90 percent of whom support universal background checks, including more than 90 percent of gun-owning households.
We must continue to turn our pain and heartbreak into action and draw strength from the brave survivors and millions of young people across America who are marching and mobilizing to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ Our Democratic Majority will continue to fight tirelessly for bipartisan, commonsense solutions to end the epidemic of gun violence and honor our obligation to keep our children and our communities safe.
Together, let us create a future in which no family is forced to endure the heartbreak of gun violence – on our streets, in our schools, in our places of worship and everywhere.
Democrats believe that affordable, quality health care must be a right – not a privilege – for every American.
House Democrats have stood strong against years of partisan Republican attempts to sabotage Americans’ health care – fighting in the Congress, the courts and the court of public opinion against the Trump and Congressional GOP efforts to dismantle life-saving protections for people with pre-existing conditions, drive up health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for families across America, and weaken quality affordable care, all while giving massive tax breaks to Big Pharma.
In the 116th Congress, our Democratic Majority protected families’ health care with landmark legislation, including H.R. 3, The Lower Drug Costs Now Act. This transformational bill delivers life-changing savings for patients, employers and taxpayers, empowers Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and make those prices available to people with private insurance, and frees Americans from having to pay more for their prescriptions than what Big Pharma charges in other countries for the same medicines. House Democrats also built on the promise of the landmark ACA by passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, to strengthen that landmark law. The ACA Enhancement Act lowers Americans' health care costs, significantly increasing affordability subsidies to be more generous and cover more middle class families, while also expanding coverage to more vulnerable communities – particularly communities of color.
Now, working with the new Biden-Harris Administration and new Senate Democratic Majority, our Democratic House will press forward with our bold, health care agenda. We will work to reverse Congressional Republicans’ health care sabotage to protect and expand on the success of the Affordable Care Act, updating and improving this transformative health law so that we can lower families’ premiums, prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs, and further expand life-saving coverage for all.
Affordable housing is a critical tool in our shared efforts to build a stronger, more vibrant, more inclusive future for San Francisco. We must ensure that people from all walks of life can continue to live in our beautiful City, share in its vibrancy, and enjoy its diversity and energy. That is why ensuring access to safe, affordable housing and reducing homelessness are among my top priorities in Congress.
I have long fought to address the critical issue of housing affordability: championing Low Income Housing Tax Credits and tax credits for first-time homebuyers, advocating for housing resources for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, strengthening innovative initiatives to reduce homelessness, and supporting programs such as Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) that will renovate distressed public housing units for low-income San Franciscans, and HOPE SF--bringing millions in federal dollars to renovate and revitalize obsolete public housing units such as Hunters View, Alice Griffith, and Sunnydale.
Now more than ever, we must continue to find ways to strengthen and protect access to sustainable, livable, and affordable housing communities in our City and across the country. I look forward to continuing to work with affordable housing community leaders in San Francisco and advocates nationwide to examine ways to strengthen affordable housing.
As Americans, we must protect human rights both at home and abroad—the right to live freely without the threat of violence or repression, the right to live with dignity and respect. Throughout our history, our international standing has rested in part on our democratic values and our commitment to human rights. Everywhere I travel, the call is clear: the world needs America to lead. We must work towards a sustainable foreign policy that reflects American values.
Around the world, violence and human rights violations continue without a peaceful resolution. For many people in the developing world, extreme poverty and the spread of infectious diseases also fuel a ‘fury of despair’ that devastates families and creates instability. It is our moral duty to protect and defend those fighting to live in a healthy, democratic society.
Our values demand that the United States stand as a fierce advocate for human rights in the face of oppression wherever we find it. We must work to advance abroad the rights that we cherish so deeply here at home: freedom of expression, assembly, and religion; respect for the rule of law; and freedom from political persecution. The world calls for our bold leadership, and we can never stop working to build a brighter future. In doing so, we can help make countries plagued by conflict and repression better places to live, and better partners in creating a safer world. Always remembering that, while the arc of history does indeed bend towards justice, it will not bend on its own.
Our nation’s immigrants are the constant reinvigoration of America. Each wave of newcomers brings their patriotism, bravery and determination to succeed to our shores – and in doing so, makes America more American. As students and servicemembers, entrepreneurs and public servants, parents and neighbors, these new Americans affirm our country’s fundamental, founding truth: our diversity is our strength. In San Francisco, we are blessed by the beautiful diversity of races, religions, backgrounds and creeds that strengthen and enrich our community and reaffirm what San Franciscans always say, that the beauty is in the mix.
Cruelly, throughout the Trump Administration, Republicans pushed a relentless anti-immigrant agenda designed to instill fear in our most vulnerable communities, weaken our country and violate our American values. Instead of respecting the hard-working men and women who contribute to our nation, the last Administration unleashed a heartless campaign of cruelty with terrorizing raids, an appalling child separation and detention policy, and an un-American attack on the fair and accurate Census required by the Constitution, which sought to ensure that historically underserved and undercounted communities are further left out and left behind.
House Democrats rejected these dangerous, destructive and deeply disrespectful policies, fighting in Congress, in the Courts and in the court of public opinion to end the Trump Administration’s attacks on immigrant families and hold them accountable for this inhumanity. During the 116th Congress, in response to the Trump cruelty, our Majority took action, including by passing critical emergency funding and strong humanitarian standards to defend children and families at the border are respected and to ensure they have food, clothing, sanitary items, safe shelter, medical care and legal assistance. And as one of our top priorities, we passed H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, to create an earned pathway to citizenship for our proud, patriotic Dreamers as well as brave TPS and DED recipients.
Now, working with the new Biden-Harris Administration and new Senate Democratic Majority, the Democratic House is building on this progress by introducing President Biden’s U.S. Citizenship Act, transformative legislation to modernize and make our immigration system more fair, orderly and humane and our nation safer, stronger and more prosperous. This landmark legislation provides an earned path to citizenship for our nation’s undocumented community, with qualifying Dreamers, TPS holders and essential farmworkers that feed America eligible for green cards immediately. The legislation also addresses the root causes of migration, reduces immigration court backlogs, reforms our asylum system, cracks down on smuggling and human trafficking criminal organizations and restores common sense to managing our borders with smart, sensible technology and infrastructure investments.
Democrats remain committed to building on this progress with further reform that recognizes and embraces the talents and contributions of our immigrant communities. We will never stop fighting to ensure that the American Dream remains within reach for all.
Nearly 60 years ago, President John Kennedy launched an ambitious mission to safely send a man to the moon and back. Today, we are at a critical juncture in our nation's history as we must renew that same spirit of action and opportunity. We must ensure that America continues to lead the world in innovation and discovery by investing in cutting-edge research, modernizing our manufacturing industry, pursuing energy renewable resources, creating green jobs, and increasing opportunities at every turn.
It is imperative that America continues to lead the world through innovation and discovery by investing in cutting-edge research, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, while investing in clean energy, pursuing renewable resources, creating green jobs, and increasing opportunities at every turn. Science and technological discoveries have formed the backbone of our progress as a people and our prosperity as a nation. America’s future progress and competitiveness demand that we initiate a sustained financial and intellectual investment in innovation.
San Francisco is home to the Innovation Capital of the World, where the top technology and creative talent across the global have been called to action and have led our technological boom. I have been proud to represent San Francisco as a longtime hotbed of new ideas, new businesses, and new industries. Our city always leads the rest of the world, connects our workers to their counterparts overseas, sets the standard for excellence in fields of innovation, strengthens our entrepreneurial spirit and the American Dream.
In order to protect our emerging industries, our city and nation must prevail in the global marketplace by winning the future. Protecting scientific research and education has been, and will remain, a top priority for my office and House Democrats.
To meet our goals, we must inspire the next generation of young Americans to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We must increase the number of high-skilled visas for foreign students with advanced STEM degrees graduating from America’s greatest research universities. In San Francisco, we are fortunate enough to see firsthand the new technologies, new companies, and new jobs they create everyday through our city.
The future of science, technology, research and development, and innovation are in jeopardy as Republicans continue cut from critical investments in science and innovation. House Democrats are committed to economic growth and job creation rooted in our unflinching dedication to scientific research, clean energy, and industries of innovation.
A commitment to innovation and progress: that was the spirit that inspired President Kennedy and our nation more than half-a-century ago. That is the tradition passed down from generation to generation of American leaders. That is the same spirit we must cherish and embrace to build a stronger economy and middle class in the 21st century.
Today, the internet and new technologies are shaping the world in a way that we could previously only imagine, giving Americans an easy way to share information, conduct business, and participate in democracy – all with the click of a button. While these new technologies often lead to greater prosperity and innovation, they can also challenge one of our most core concepts of government and self: privacy and freedom.
We treasure these values and we understand the importance of preserving a free and open internet. The power of the internet has always rested in its role as a level playing field where success is founded on the best ideas, not the deepest pockets. That is why we need strong rules that protect consumers and innovators and will safeguard fair, fast, equal and competitive access to the internet.
It is clear that the Trump administration and the FCC have launched an all-out assault on the entrepreneurship, innovation, and competition at the heart of the internet. The Trump administration has unleashed internet service providers to sell your most intimate personal information – without your knowledge or your consent. These measures are a breathtaking violation of Americans’ privacy and values. Rest assured, House Democrats are committed to protecting the freedom and openness which defines the internet and American innovation in the 21st century.
That is why I am a champion for net neutrality and the protection of internet privacy for all Americans.
For decades, hard-working Americans in San Francisco and across the country have been hurting as the cost of living rises, paychecks remain flat and fear and uncertainty about the economy grow.
As the 117th Congress begins, the economic challenges faced by families have been compounded by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. With millions out of work and struggling to put food on the table and keep the roof over their head, and small businesses struggling to stay afloat, Congress must act boldly and urgently to not only crush the virus and get relief to businesses, communities and families, but Build Back Better – and to do so in a way that advances justice, prosperity and equality for all Americans. Democrats, working with President Biden, are taking the action needed to defeat this pandemic, putting shots in people’s arms, money in their pockets, children back to school and people back to work. And we will continue to advance legislation needed to help families and small businesses that are struggling.
The coronavirus crisis has also pulled back the veil of inequality in our nation, sharpening our the disparities that rage in our society and country. To combat the crisis of income and wealth disparity in our city and our country, particularly among women and communities of color, House Democrats took critical steps last Congress, passing the Raise the Wage Act, to gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and give 33 million Americans a long-overdue raise. We also passed the Butch Lewis Act and the PRO Act to protect workers’ right to unionize and negotiate for fair wages and workplace safety. And this Congress, I have led the House in creating the bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to advance proposals that make our economy work for everyone.
In stark contrast, Republicans spent years working to hollow out our economy, failing hard-working families with a disastrous special interest agenda that sought only to further enrich the wealthy and well-connected. They exploded the debt with their GOP Tax Scam, which gave massive handouts to corporations and 83 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest 1 percent. They fought to undermine the health and financial security of families with their relentless health care sabotage campaign. And for months, in the midst of a pandemic, they obstructed urgently needed coronavirus relief legislation to lift up communities hit hardest by the crisis.
The Democratic House will join the new Biden-Harris Administration and the Democratic Senate to meet the economic challenges that families face. The American people demand and deserve transformative action – and Democrats are proud to deliver results in their lives as we work to build an economy that works for everyone.
San Francisco is blessed with a large and vibrant LGBTQ community and a strong history of advocacy for equal rights for all. Since my first day in Congress, ending discrimination against the LGBTQ community and advancing full equality has been a top priority. I have continuously supported legislation that expands protections for LGBTQ Americans and honors the beautiful diversity that enriches our community.
With the tireless support of generations of LGBTQ leaders, advocates and citizens, we have made great strides in Congress toward ensuring and protecting equal rights for every American: including by passing historic, fully-inclusive hate crimes legislation, tossing the hateful “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy into the dustbin of history and defeating the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. Together, we celebrated as the Supreme Court issued one of the most transformative and magnificent decisions in the history of our country: Obergefell v. Hodges, recognizing marriage equality as a fundamental right for every American, everywhere.
In the 116th Congress, our House Democratic Majority proudly passed H.R. 5, the Equality Act, historic legislation to finally end anti-LGBTQ discrimination once and for all. The Equality Act extends anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity with regard to employment, education, access to credit, jury service, federal funding, housing and public accommodations. And to honor the LGBTQ Americans who bravely serve our nation, House Democrats fought relentlessly against the Trump Administration’s shameful, un-American transgender military service ban, purpose-built to hurt and humiliate these patriotic Americans.
Now, working with the new Biden-Harris Administration, our unified Democratic Congress will be committed to the bedrock promise of equality and justice for all. I strongly support President Biden’s Executive Order reversing the hateful transgender ban and recognizing the courage and dedication of all those willing and able to serve our nation. And, in Congress, Democrats will once again pass the landmark Equality Act, and we will not rest until its vital protections are enacted into law.
We will continue to advance progress until we end the discrimination that undermines our democracy, ensuring that all Americans, regardless of who you are or whom you love, are viewed equally in the eyes of the law. The fight for equality demands our persistent efforts to honor our fundamental values of fairness and justice as we work to build a brighter future for all.
Since her first day in Congress, combating HIV and AIDS has been a priority for Congresswoman Pelosi, who stated in her first speech in Congress on June 9, 1987, that “…now we must take leadership of course in the crisis of AIDS.”
Armed with the lessons of San Francisco’s model of community-based care, Congresswoman Pelosi worked to accelerate development of an HIV vaccine, expand access to Medicaid for people living with HIV, and increase funding for the Ryan White CARE program, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative and other research, care, treatment, prevention and search for a cure initiatives vital to people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Pelosi participated in some of the earliest meetings for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, sewing her own patch for the flower girl in her wedding who died of AIDS, and fighting to secure the needed permits from the National Park Service so that the AIDS memorial quilt could be displayed on the National Mall. In 2020, Pelosi aided the effort to return the AIDS Memorial Quilt to San Francisco, under the stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial, with the project’s archives transferred to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing for greater public access.
Knowing that ‘housing is health care,’ in 1989, Representative Pelosi joined Representatives Jim McDermott and Charles Schumer to introduce the landmark bill that created the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program to ensure stable, affordable housing for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS. In the years since, Pelosi has secured robust resources for the HOPWA program, including record funding levels in each of the last four years. .
In 1996, Pelosi successfully spearheaded the passage of legislation designating San Francisco’s AIDS Memorial Grove, located in Golden Gate Park, as a national memorial of the United States. Pelosi has celebrated multiple anniversaries of her service representing San Francisco by volunteering at the Grove.
Disease knows no borders and boundaries. As the former Ranking Democrat on the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, Pelosi led the efforts to boost U.S. funding for our bilateral AIDS initiatives, which had been in desperate need of international attention and U.S. funding. In 2000, she led the effort in the House Appropriations Committee to provide the first U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. She also authored legislation to provide incentives for research on vaccines against HIV, as well as tuberculosis and malaria.
As Democratic Leader, Pelosi supported President Bush’s bilateral PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) initiative. During her first two terms as Speaker of the House, working with Presidents Bush and Obama, she successfully fought to more than double bilateral funding for global AIDS, increasing the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund by twofold.
More recently, Speaker Pelosi successfully fought against President Trump when his budgets proposed the largest cuts ever to global HIV/AIDS programs. Pelosi secured and protected an increase to PEPFAR and the Global Fund and preserved the United States’ commitment to its 33 percent share to the Global Fund. And with the upcoming Global 7th Replenishment Conference to be help in the United States this year, Pelosi is working with State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Lee to increase the U.S.’s commitment to $2 billion annually for the next three years. These initiatives have saved the lives of millions and provided testing, counseling and better care to some of the most vulnerable men, women, and children around the world.
Before her time as Speaker, as a member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Pelosi made HIV funding a top priority and successfully pushed for major increased investments in domestic HIV prevention, care, treatment and research. She led efforts in the House for evidence-based HIV prevention policies and authored legislation to expand Medicaid eligibility to people living with HIV.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Taylor Testifying Before the House Budget Committee on HIV-AIDS Funding in March 1990
During her first two terms as Speaker of House, domestic funding for HIV/AIDS was increased by over half a billion dollars, and the travel ban for people with HIV/AIDS was successfully lifted.
Pelosi spearheaded the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has provided significant benefits for those with HIV/AIDS. While before the ACA many low-income individuals with HIV did not qualify for Medicaid until they became disabled, the ACA’s Medicaid expansion dramatically increased access to Medicaid for people with HIV. Today, more than 40 percent are covered under the program. The Affordable Care Act ended discrimination based on pre-existing conditions including HIV/AIDS, improved Medicare Part D for people participating in ADAP, and ended annual and lifetime caps on health benefits.
More recently, Pelosi supported funding for the Ending the Epidemic Initiative targeting investment to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent by 2025, and then by at least 90 percent by 2030. In the last three appropriations funding bills, she helped secured in over $1 billion in new funds for this initiative. With the COVID pandemic endangering people living with HIV and AIDS and straining efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Pelosi negotiated and passed the CARES Act, which included $90 million in Ryan White funding and $65 million for HOPWA.
Now, Speaker Pelosi is working with the Biden/Harris Administration to combat HIV/AIDS at home and abroad: protecting and enhancing the Affordable Care Act, fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, updating the nation's comprehensive HIV/AIDS strategy to aggressively reduce new HIV cases and end racial disparities in HIV, protecting the gains in the global epidemic as COVID-19 threatens health systems, and increasing access to treatment and eliminating inequitable access to services and supports.
Our nation’s leaders have no greater responsibility than ensuring the safety and security of the American people. That means a tough and smart national security strategy to combat terrorism at home and abroad by eliminating any threats to our people and our country’s infrastructure.
The United States works to combat global terror by working with our allies to protect human rights and prevent radicalization. Congress must also work to ensure that our military and the brave men and women who keep us safe have the resources they need to eliminate security threats while also maintaining appropriate oversight of the Department of Defense (DoD) to preserve the accountability, transparency, and fiscal discipline of the federal defense budget.
Congress must also protect our nation from the threat posed by cyber-attacks. To secure a reliable and resilient cyberspace that reflects our country's values, we must prevent breaches in our national security while preserving a space that promotes the innovation, expression, and security of the American people. We can provide critical protections for our nation's technological infrastructure by building public-private partnerships, promoting cybersecurity education and awareness campaigns and investing in the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. In doing so, we will minimize risks to this vital infrastructure and decrease the potential for breaches that place our government, private enterprise, and economy in peril.
To move our nation forward in uncertain times, Congress will work to preserve our alliances abroad and ensure our national security at home by promoting peace, progress, and prosperity across the globe.
In the midst of the Great Depression, our nation made a fundamental promise that a lifetime of hard work would be met with the dignity and peace of mind of a secure retirement. For generations, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid have stood as pillars of health and economic security and opportunity for millions of American families, whether in retirement, disability, or following the death of a loved one.
Despite their transformative impact on our economy and our society, Republicans in Congress have engaged in a relentless, reckless campaign to undermine Social Security, cut and cap Medicaid, and make Medicare “wither on the vine.” House Democrats believe in honoring our responsibility to American seniors and their families. We will always fight to defend these bedrock health and financial protections and will continue to hold Republicans accountable for their dangerous assault on the retirement security of hard-working Americans. We are committed to ensuring that the dignity of a secure retirement is available to every generation.
Congress must responsibly address the long-term funding challenges to Social Security and Medicare, without weakening guaranteed benefits that American workers have earned through a lifetime of work. Democrats remain firmly committed to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid’s bedrock promises. Working with the new Biden-Harris Administration and new Senate Democratic Majority, we will continue strengthening these vital lifelines as we work to build a healthier, more secure and equal future for America’s seniors, families and generations to come.
Today, America’s infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is crumbling: giving us both the responsibility and the opportunity to take bold action to Build Back Better. At the same time, the existential threat of the climate crisis and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlight the great disparities in our nation and point to the need for an innovative, future-focused infrastructure plan that is green, modern and sustainable – and just.
Now, with the Biden-Harris Administration and the new Senate Democratic Majority, House Democrats will build on the progress made in the last Congress, when we passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. This landmark infrastructure legislation is a strong down payment to create millions of good-paying American union jobs and power growth by rebuilding America with clean energy, smart technology and resilient infrastructure. We must now advance the clean energy economy of the future by investing boldly in transportation, broadband, water, and more – putting our nation on a path to a net-zero emissions future, while addressing disparities in our communities.
Here in San Francisco, since my earliest days in Congress, I have fought to secure strong federal funding to address the critical transportation and infrastructure needs in our city. This funding has been instrumental in extending BART to the SFO Airport; strengthening BART’s Transbay Core Capacity initiative to increase capacity by 45 percent and improve service for millions of riders; creating the Third Street Light Rail; securing nearly $1 billion in federal funds for the Central Subway; securing $639 million for the Salesforce Transit Center; expanding access to affordable housing for vulnerable communities; protecting precious drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir; and ensuring critical city infrastructure is safe and seismically up to date. And as the COVID pandemic decimated transit revenues and ridership in San Francisco, I secured billions in emergency transit assistance with over $2 billion to Bay Area transit providers, protecting thousands of transit jobs from furloughs and layoffs, while preserving transit service vital for essential workers.
House Democrats will continue to take bold action in the climate fight – and in the process, we will protect clean air and clean water, create the good-paying jobs for the 21st Century economy, advance America’s preeminence in the green technologies of the future, defend our national security and honor our obligation to be good stewards of God’s creation.
Our nation is truly blessed by the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. In Congress, we must do everything in our power to honor the service of our veterans by upholding a solemn promise: just as the military pledges to leave no soldier behind on the battlefield, we must leave no veteran behind when they return home. Democrats take pride in a record of historic investments and benefits for America’s veterans, like the landmark Post-9/11 GI Bill, and will continue to deliver upon our nation’s promises to the heroes who wear the uniform.
In the Majority, House Democrats have continued to fulfill our responsibility to serve our veterans through championing efforts to increase access to timely, quality health care, eliminate the VA claims backlog and ensure every veteran gets the prompt and full benefits they deserve, end veteran homelessness, work to close the VA’s gap in gender disparities, and strengthen the support of our nation’s 5.5 million veterans’ caregivers. We continue to work relentlessly to strengthen and expand veterans’ access to the training, education and good-paying jobs they deserve and ensure that every veteran is equipped with the tools they need to thrive. Our new Democratic House takes great pride in the work we’ve done and are committed to preserving the sacred trust of our men and women in uniform and the 200,000 service members who become veterans each year.
House Democrats will continue to reject President Trump and Republicans’ efforts to end the VA’s indispensable role as the chief provider of care for veterans that would severely diminish vital initiatives our veterans and their families rely on. The courage and excellence of our veterans deserve our unyielding dedication. Whether it’s budget shortfalls, protecting whistleblowers or removing poorly-performing managers—House Democrats will continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable.
Democrats believe we cannot rest until no veteran goes homeless and every veteran has access to timely, world-class health care, swift and transparent action on disability claims, and support they and their families need to thrive as they transition into civilian life. We will continue to fight For The People and build on the progress we have made to serve our nation’s heroes.
Voting rights are essential to who we are as Americans, to the cause of equality and to the strength of our democracy. In Congress, we have a sacred responsibility to do everything in our power to remove obstacles to voting, to ensure every citizen has the right to vote and every vote is counted as cast.
Yet, today, voting rights are under relentless attack. The Supreme Court’s disastrous Shelby v. Holder decision unleashed an outrageous Republican campaign of voter suppression that is denying millions a voice, particularly in communities of color. The vote is also under threat from hostile foreign interference and endangered by the coronavirus epidemic. Despite these threats, Republicans in Congress have refused to safeguard our election systems, voting again and again against basic steps to protect this sacred democratic institution from assault.
In stark contrast, as one of our first acts in the 116th Congress, our Democratic Majority passed H.R. 1, the For The People Act, to protect the ballot. To fully combat the assault on voting rights, we also passed H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which restores the Voting Rights Act: protecting access to the ballot box for all Americans and fighting the brazen Republican efforts to turn back the clock and erect barriers to voting for communities of color. And amid the coronavirus crisis, Democrats fought to protect vote-by-mail and safe in-person voting options and to expand online and same-day voting registration.
Working with the new Biden-Harris Administration and new Senate Democratic Majority, House Democrats will continue to fight to ensure that the public interest comes first in our democracy, not the special interests. By doing so, we can make progress for every family and community, including safeguarding workers’ rights, increasing paychecks, lowering health care costs and prescription drug prices, raising wages by rebuilding America with green, modern infrastructure, and protecting our children’s clean air and clean water.
Since her first day in Congress, combating HIV and AIDS has been a priority for Congresswoman Pelosi, stating in her first speech in Congress on June 9, 1987, that “…now we must take leadership of course in the crisis of AIDS. And I look forward to working with you on that.”
Armed with the lessons of San Francisco’s model of community-based care, Congresswoman Pelosi worked to accelerate development of an HIV vaccine, expand access to Medicaid for people living with HIV, and increase funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative and other research, care, treatment, prevention and search for a cure initiatives vital to people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
In 1989, Pelosi, along with Rep. Jim McDermott and then-Rep. Charles Schumer introduced the AIDS Opportunity Housing Act, which led to the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA)initiative – an essential lifeline for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Pelosi participated in some of the earliest meetings for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, sowing her own patch for the flower girl in her wedding who died of AIDS, and helping to secure the needed permits from the National Park Service so that the AIDS memorial quilt could be displayed on the National Mall.
In 1996, Pelosi successfully spearheaded the passage of legislation designating San Francisco’s AIDS Memorial Grove, located in Golden Gate Park, as a national memorial. Pelosi has celebrated a number of anniversaries representing San Francisco volunteering at the Grove, which itself celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011.
To address the international pandemic, as Ranking Democrat on the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, Pelosi led the efforts to boost U.S. funding for our bilateral AIDS initiatives that were in desperate need of international attention and vastly under-funded.
In 2000, she led the effort in the House Appropriations Committee to provide the first U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and worked to pass amendments on the House floor increasing U.S. bilateral AIDS funding and debt forgiveness for the world’s poorest countries in the Jubilee Year of 2000.
During her time as Speaker of the House, and working with Presidents Bush and Obama, U.S. funding for global health initiatives doubled from less than $4 billion a year in fiscal year 2006 to over $8 billion in fiscal year 2010. That funding level includes more than doubling bilateral funding for global AIDS and doubling the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund.
In 2008, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Pelosi boosted our global AIDS initiatives by passing the Lantos-Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Act against HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria that authorized $48 billion over five years from FY09-FY14. This huge increase was $35 billion more than the previous five years and $20 billion more than President Bush requested.
Also, during the four years she served as Speaker of House, domestic discretionary funding for HIV/AIDS was increased by over half a billion dollars from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2010. In that time, we lifted the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange and the travel ban for people with HIV/AIDS – fights Pelosi had been waging since her first years in Congress.
Pelosi spearheaded the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which has provided significant benefits for those with HIV/AIDS by dramatically increasing access to Medicaid for people with HIV, improving Medicare Part D for people participating in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and ending annual and lifetime caps on health benefits.
These initiatives have saved the lives of millions and provided testing, counseling and better care to some of the most vulnerable men, women, and children around the world.
House Republicans’ flawed priorities have stalled middle class opportunity while consistently stacking the deck for wealthy special interests. Instead of tax incentives to create good paying jobs to “Make It In America,” they give tax favors to corporations that ship jobs overseas. Instead of allowing college students to refinance staggering student debts, they protect bank profits.
Instead of passing legislation to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work, they support putting bosses in charge of women’s health freedoms. They even threatened to shut down the government to stop women from accessing Planned Parenthood.
It’s time for a Congress that puts you ahead of the special interests. I am committed to bold, concrete initiatives to jumpstart the middle class and those working to get into the middle class. House Democrats have a three-pronged plan will grow the middle class with good jobs, support for women and education that is more affordable and accessible for working families:
‘MAKE IT IN AMERICA’ – BETTER JOBS AT HOME
WHEN WOMEN SUCCEED, AMERICA SUCCEEDS
AFFORDABLE EDUCATION TO KEEP AMERICA #1
House Democrats are fighting to make sure that all working people know that somebody has their back. By giving our communities the tools they need to thrive, and empowering American families and workers, we will unlock unprecedented economic growth that will lead to better jobs, better wages, and a better future.
To unlock that future, Democrats are focusing on three goals:
â– Raise the wages and incomes of American workers and create millions of good-paying jobs: Our plan for A Better Deal starts by creating millions of good-paying, full-time jobs by directly investing in our crumbling infrastructure and prioritizing small business and entrepreneurs, instead of giving tax breaks to special interests. We will aggressively crack down on unfair foreign trade and fight back against corporations that outsource American jobs. We will fight to ensure a living wage for all Americans and keep our promise to millions of workers who earned a pension, Social Security and Medicare, so seniors can retire with dignity.
â– Lower the costs of living for families: We will offer A Better Deal that will lower the crippling cost of prescription drugs and the cost of a college or technical education that leads to a good job. We will fight for families struggling with high monthly bills like childcare, credit card fees, and cable bills. We will crack down on monopolies and the concentration of economic power that has led to higher prices for consumers, workers, and small business – and make sure Wall Street never endangers Main Street again.
â– Build an economy that gives working Americans the tools to succeed in the 21st Century:: Americans deserve the chance to get the skills, tools, and knowledge to find a good-paying job or to move up in their career to earn a better living. We will commit to A Better Deal that provides new tax incentives to employers that invest in workforce training and education and make sure the rules of the economy support companies that focus on long-term growth, rather than short-term profits. We will make it a national priority to bring high-speed Internet to every corner of America and offer apprenticeships to millions of new workers. We will encourage innovation, invest in advanced research and ensure start-ups and small businesses can compete and prosper.
It’s time to put government back on the side of all Americans, not just those at the top. It’s time for A Better Deal.
When women succeed, communities flourish, and when women lead, countries grow stronger. As the first woman Speaker of the House, I stood on the shoulders of those who have come before me — Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth – and every other pioneer who fought to empower and inspire women. I am committed to policies that ensure equality and opportunity for all women, from ensuring equal pay for equal work, protecting a woman’s right to choose, ending gender-based discrimination in all areas, supporting programs addressing violence against women in any form, and improving access to affordable, quality health care and education.
For too long, America’s women have faced outdated policies and practices that prevent them from fully participating in our economy. Fifty years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, what President John F. Kennedy called the “unconscionable practice” – paying women less than men for the same amount of work – continues to persist. Women make only 77 cents to every dollar earned by men, making it harder for the 40 percent of families with female breadwinners to make ends meet.
If we are ever going to unleash the intellect, the determination, and the courage of women into the world, we need affordable, quality childcare. The high cost of child care is forcing too many mothers and families to choose between the lesser of two evils: either low-quality child care or forgoing much needed wages for child care needs. As we work to help employees better balance the demands of work and family, we must also expand and improve the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow working parents to meet their needs at home, support their families, and ensure the health and safety of America’s workers.
That is why House Democrats are offering the When Women Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families–an agenda to address the economic challenges facing women and families today: