Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 110th Congress. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the post of Speaker, or even lead a major political party in either house of Congress. She has represented the 8th District of California in the United States House of Representatives since 1987. (map)

Record and controversies

Transparency

Sunlight Foundation website investigation

Nancy Pelosi's official website was rated by citizen researchers in February 2007 as part of a survey by the Sunlight Foundation. The survey evaluated members' sites on whether they provided basic information on their legislative activities, post their legally required disclosures such as on personal finances and travel, and any other information that furthers transparency. Nancy Pelosi's site received a 32 (out of 100). A score of 40 was considered passing. Full results.

Progressive image

Pelosi is generally very progressive. She was a member of the Progressive Caucus until she became the party leader, when she adopted a policy of not belonging to any caucuses.^[1]

Like most House Democrats, Pelosi opposed the resolution authorizing Bush to use military force against Iraq and has been a strong critic of the war effort since then, nevertheless she has rejected efforts to impeach the president or to stop funding for the war.

Views on Israel

Pelosi addressed the 2005 Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In her speech she said that the root of the Israel-Palestine conflict is the right of Israel to exist, not the occupation of Palestine, and pledged the protection of the U.S.:

""There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This is absolute nonsense. In truth, the history of the conflict is not over occupation, and never has been: it is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist... The United States will stand with Israel now and forever. Now and forever."^[2]

In July 2006, she threatened to boycott the speech by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki to the joint session of congress unless he repudiated his earlier criticism of Israeli aggression against Lebanon.^[1]

Beginning August 8, 1991, Nancy Pelosi went on a tour of Israel as part of an Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith congressional mission. The other congressmen on the tour were: Leon Panetta, George Miller and Charles Schumer.

Pelosi has strong ties to a number of Jewish groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee whose former preident Amy Friedkin is her close friend.^[2]

Nancy Pelosi speech to AIPAC April 2003
Nancy Pelosi speech to AIPAC May 2005

Network neutrality legislation

When Rep. Joe Barton and Sen. Ted Stevens pushed anti-network neutrality legislation in 2006, Pelosi came out in favor of neutrality, angering telecom companies and some fellow Democrats by urging her caucus to fall in line behind her. Roll Call also quoted "insiders" as saying that the damage telecom companies deal to Democrats in retaliation was low because they had already maxed out their campaign contributions to the legal limits until after the 2006 election.^[3] Network neutrality has been called the "first amendment of the Internet" by the SavetheInternet.com Coalition.

PAC Fined

In 2004 a political action committee (PAC), Team Majority, controlled by Pelosi was fined $21,000 for "for improperly accepting donations over federal limits, according to records and interviews."^[4] Pelosi used two PACs, including Team Majority, to raise money for her colleagues during the 2002 election. The fine came from Pelosi's use of multiple PACs to exceed donation limits to other members campaign committees. Two Democratic lawmakers, Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Julie Thomas (D-Md.), paid fines of $2,500 each for receiving illegal contributions from Pelosi's PAC. Team Majority ceased operating before the fine was issued.^[5]

Earmarks and "pork"

In February of 2003 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Pelosi had sought a $1 million earmark for an advisor and former campaign treasurer's think tank:^[6]

Pelosi's office confirmed Thursday that the San Francisco Democrat, who was elected House minority leader in November, obtained the $1 million for the USF center, without requiring [her longtime adviser and campaign treasurer, former Lt. Gov. Leo T.] McCarthy and USF to go through the normal application process for such grants. But Pelosi said the program got the money on its merits, not because of any political ties to the congresswoman.^[7]

A 2005 Washington Times report alleges that Pelosi helped a campaign donor secure funds from a federal agency days after one of her staff members returned from a fact-finding trip to Spain that was funded by the donor.^[8]

Pelosi and her office denied any connection between the trip and the money sought by WestStart-CALSTART. Pelosi's spokeswoman stated that Republican staffers also went on the trip to Spain.

Endorsement of Jack Murtha for Majority Leader

Following their victory in the 2006 midterm elections, congressional Democrats engaged in an intra-party struggle to determine who would be majority leader during the 110th Congress. With Pelosi ascending to the Speakership, Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), then minority whip, appeared to be the most likely candidate for the position. Challenging him was Rep. John Murtha (Pa.), a close associate of Pelosi's and an early critic of the U.S. war in Iraq. Pelosi intially vowed to stay neutral in the contest. The Sunday before the Nov. 16th caucus elections, however, Pelosi surprised political observers by openly endorsing Murtha and throwing her full weight behind him, campaigning vigorously on his behalf. Hoyer ultimately prevailed by a vote of 149-86.^[9]^[10]

Opposes creation of Iraq oversight committee

On January 22, 2007, the House Republican leadership sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi which proposed the creation of a new oversight committee to monitor the progress of President Bush's Iraq plan. The panel would have defined military, political and social benchmarks in which the president would be required to submit a report to the committee every 30 days indicating whether those benchmarks had been achieved. The committee would have also addressed troop withdrawal, which would have required “an interagency assessment on the impact withdrawal would have on our national security and homeland interest,” as well as the effect withdrawal would have had on surrounding countries.The proposal was rejected by Pelosi, as she expressed confidence in the oversight ability of the already established committees. Her spokesman, Drew Hammill, stated that, “Committees in the 110th Congress are already underway on Iraq oversight...She has the upmost confidence in their ability.”^[11]

Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act

Pelosi strongly supported the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act (H.R. 2956), which was sponsored by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) on July 10, 2007. The bill would require that the U.S. begin redeploying troops from Iraq within 120 days of the bill's passage. It would also require that the U.S. have a "limited presence" in Iraq by April 1, 2008. President Bush would need to submit a report to Congress outlining the specific goals of the remaining troops in Iraq, along with timetables for their completion. ^[12]

On July 12, 2007 the House passed the bill in a vote of 223-201.^[13]

Before the vote, Pelosi called for a change in Iraq, saying,

“After more than 3,600 lives have been lost to a flawed strategy, we have a responsibility to create a new direction.

“After spending $329 million every day on the war in Iraq, on a war that is not making our country safer, we have an obligation to change course.

“After five years of a failed policy in Iraq, we have a duty not just to voice our opposition, but to vote to end the war.

“Chairman Skelton’s bipartisan bill offers a step we can take today toward bringing the troops home. To creating a strategic vision for stability in the Middle East, and for beginning to rearm our military."^[14]

Against an invasion of Iran

In February 2007, at the House Democratic annual retreat, Speaker Pelosi informed her colleagues that "if it appears likely that Bush wants to take the country to war against Iran, the House would take up a bill to deny him the authority to do so."^[15]

2007 Iraq war spending bill

On March 29, 2007, Speaker Pelosi urged President Bush to relax with threats of vetoing the House and Senate versions of the Iraq war supplemental bill. The legislation includes benchmarks and a 2008 withdrawal plan. If lawmakers cannot pass a bill with the president’s signature, it will lead to a shutdown of the Pentagon, effectively denying funding to troops in Iraq.^[16]

After the first Iraq supplemental spending bill, which included a timetable for troop withdrawal, passed the House in a 218-212 vote in March 2007, Pelosi stated, "proudly, this new Congress voted to bring an end to the war in Iraq." The bill was eventually passed by both chambers and sent to the President who vetoed it as promised.

Following the veto, another attempt was made an an Iraq supplemental spending bill, one that would most likely not include a troop withdrawal timetable. On May 22, 2007, after numerous attempts at including timetables in an Iraq supplemental spending bill, Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate announced that they would each introduce supplemental spending bills which would not include timetables for combat withdrawal. When the final bill, which provided funds for the Iraq War through September 2007, came to a vote, it passed 280-142, with most Democrats,including Pelosi, opposing it.

Trip to the Middle East

Despite vocal disapproval from the White House, Pelosi embarked on a nine-day goodwill trip to the Middle East in late March 2007. Pelosi planned to address several parliaments and heads of state, including Syria. Reps. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), David Hobson (R-Ohio) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) are accompanying her. The trip to Syria goes against White House recommendations of avoiding the country due to, what the White House calls, state-sponsored terrorism. The White House criticized the message that Pelosi’s stop would send to U.S. allies.^[17]

Think Progress, however, stated that at the time the White House was making those comments it exempted from criticism three congressional Republicans — Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.)^[18] — who were then on a similar trip to Israel and Syria. Also, the Associated Press reported that in March 2007, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey had traveled to Syria to hold talks with a "senior Syrian diplomat on how Damascus was coping with a flood of Iraqi refugees, the first such talks in the Syrian capital for more than two years." ^[19]

White House spokesperson Dana Perino had the following exchange with a reporter on April 3, 2007, when asked about the difference between how the White House treated the two trips:

QUESTION: I want to clarify on the -- you're saying it was a bad idea, then, for Speaker Pelosi to go for all these various reasons to Syria. It's a bad idea, then, for Jim Baker to have gone, a bad idea for Frank Wolf to go as well, right?

MS. PERINO: We think that it is not a good idea for U.S. officials to go and meet with Assad, because it alleviates that pressure, and also because meetings haven't produced anything. They've been meeting just to meet, and he doesn't change his behavior. In fact, he uses those meetings as a reason to say that he doesn't need to do anything. ^[20]

Pelosi held talks with the Syrian president on April 4, 2007 on Syrian-Israeli relations and Syrian support of militant groups. ^[21]

A "day after the Pelosi delegation", on April 5, 2007, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a Lebanese-American "who frequently travels to the Middle East"^[22], "headed a 3 person delegation"^[23]^[24] that visited Syria and met with Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.^[25]^[26]

On April 5, 2007, in a telephone interview with Rush Limbaugh^[27], Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Pelosi's statements to the Syrian president as "nonsensical" and constituting "bad behavior." This criticism was, in part, a response to Pelosi conveying that Israel was open to peace talks with Syria which prompted Israel to clarify the pre-conditions to peace talks. ^[28]

On April 8, 2007, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich criticised Pelosi's trip as "dangerous for America", stating that it is "very important not to have two foreign policies." ^[29]

Immigration

On May 20th 2007, Speaker Pelosi issued a series of criticisms regarding the Senate's immigration bill. Specifically, she mentioned the 'point system' of the guest worker program and that it was anti-family. She stated, "the family unification principles which had been fundamental to American immigration are disrupted by what is in there now.”^[30]

Applauds President Bush for tightening sanctions against Sudan

On May 29, 2007, Pelosi applauded a decision by President Bush to tighten sanctions against the government of Sudan. Bush's plan called for increasing economic and political pressure on Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to end the alleged genocide in the country's Darfur region.^[31]

Peru-United States Free Trade Agreement deal

On May 10, 2007, Democratic congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), struck a deal with President Bush that secured their support for the Peru-U.S. agreement in exchange for inserting provisions that protect workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. The Peruvian government would also have to agree to the changes before Congress could consider the agreement.^[32]

Ethics reform

After emerging victorious in the November 7, 2006 elections Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi pledged "to lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history." Pelosi also pledged to sever the ties between K Street, the Washington corridor of lobbying firms, and Congress. As incoming Speaker, Pelosi also stated that she would push to make the sponsors of congressional earmarks public prior to votes. She stated, "There has to be transparency ... I'd just as soon do away with all (earmarks), but that probably isn't realistic."

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006

Minority Leader Pelosi introduced The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006 on January 20, 2006, in the wake of numerous guilty pleas by and indictments of lobbyists and members of Congress. Specifically, the bill would:

Ban lobbyists from giving gifts or travel to members or their staff.
Require lobbyists to file electronic, quarterly reports. The report must contain information pertaining to efforts to stimulate grassroots support, previous work in the executive or legislative branches, and provide certification of the report with the possibility of criminal penalties for failing to submit a certified report. The bill also creates a searchable public database of lobbying reports.
Double the "cooling-off" period where lawmakers, staff, and Executive branch employees cannot lobby there former offices of employment from one-year to two-years.
Stop efforts like the "K Street Project" by banning efforts of members of Congress and staff to enforce partisan discipline in private organizations. The penalty would be a fine or up to 15 years in prison with a possible ban on serving public office.
Require lawmakers, staff, and Executive employees to disclose outside job negotiations and to receive approval from the Office of Government Ethics.
Require conference committees to be open to the public and require conference reports to be publicly available on the Internet at least 24 hours prior to a vote.
Require that any appointee to a public safety position have proven credentials and training in one or more areas that are relevant.
Provide oversight of government contracting. Require contractors to work for contracts in an open, competitive bidding process. Create stiffer penalties for wartime fraud and prohibit contractors with conflicts of interest from participating in competitive bidding.

The bill was referred to six committees, Judiciary, Rules, Government Reform, Standards and Conduct, Armed Services, and Administration, and failed to emerge from any one of the six.

Independent ethics commission

On February 1, 2007, Speaker Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced the creation of a "task force" to study implementation of an outside ethics body to oversee Congress. The task force, chaired by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), issued it's report to the House in May 2007.

On June 1, 2007, Pelosi announced her intention to create an independent ethics commission that would allow outside groups to file complaints against members of Congress, which previously could only be filed by other members. The commission, as proposed by a special task force chaired by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), could filter complaints but have no judging authority.^[33] Implementation of the new commission was delayed, however, as many members were worried by the ability of non-members to submit complaints, fearing the change would be abused with politically motivated attacks. Fifty-three House members signed onto an alternative piece of ethics legislation, introduced by Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), which would create a powerful investigative panel consisting of 12 former representatives, but would only allow complaints from sitting members. According to advocates familiar with the proposal in the House, the ethics panel would include the following components:

Republicans and Democrats would appoint an even number of members to the panel — most likely three GOP and three Democratic appointees. Current lawmakers and lobbyists could not sit on the panel.
The panel would receive complaints from outside groups and then invite witnesses to provide relevant testimony.
The panel would not have subpoena power or the power to put witnesses under oath.
Upon receiving a complaint, the panel would have 45 days to compile a report recommending dismissal or further action and pass it to the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee. If the panel could not complete its report within 45 days, it could grant itself a short extension.
The ethics committee would have up to 90 days to create an investigative subcommittee to probe the complaint or vote to dismiss it. If the committee voted to dismiss the complaint, the independent panel’s report would be made publicly available.

Several congressional watchdog groups came out against the measure, citing a provision that requires organizations that submit complaints to the independent ethics committee to disclose their donors, putting the legislation in danger of failing. Organizations like Public Citizen, Common Cause, Democracy 21, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, who had made the creation of such an outside ethics board a major priority since the Jack Abramoff scandal, felt that having to disclose their donors was not a necessary part of reform and could put them in jeopardy. Members of the House pushing for the outside ethics office argued that watchdog groups can't call for openness in Congress, while denying transparency on their part. The reform organizations also argued that the ethics panel as it was being considered in the House was not strong enough to produce real ethics reform, making calls to strengthen the potential committee's investigative authority and provide it with subpoena power.

Election reform

On June 25, 2007, the House passed by voice vote the 'Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007, sponsored by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.). The bill, still pending passage in the Senate, would establish criminal penalties for acts of voter deception. Those who knowingly disseminate false information with the intention of keeping others from voting would face up to five years in prison under the legislation. Pelosi, who supported the measure, stated that the bill focused on "voter suppression tactics using misinformation and deception targeted at minority voters," and that "disenfranchising voters through deception about time, place, or eligibility for voting must be illegal."

Impeachment of President George W. Bush

In statements she made to the Washington Post in early 2006, then-House Minority Leader Pelosi left open the possibility that if Democrats took over the House after the November 2006 elections, their planned investigations into the Bush administration could lead to impeachment. Although impeachment would not be the goal of the investigations, she said, "You never know where it leads to." Since then she has changed her position and stated that the option is "off the table".

Biography

Pelosi was born March 26, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., was a U.S. Congressman from Maryland and also a Mayor of Baltimore, the latter office having been held also by her brother Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro III in the late 1960s.

Affiliations

AIPAC

Contact

DC Office:
2371 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0508
Phone: 202-225-4965
Fax: 202-225-8259
Email: sf.nancy AT mail.house.gov
Web Email
Website

District Office - San Francisco:
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102-3460
Phone: 415-556-4862
Fax: 415-861-1670