Posted on 02/06/2009 9:00:29 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In a statement sure to rile Republicans, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Friday dismissed calls for bipartisanship as “process” arguments extraneous to passing a stimulus bill — and warned Senate Democrats against slashing proposed increases to education spending.
Pelosi — speaking to reporters on the second day of her retreat with House Democrats at a swank Williamsburg, Va., golf resort — was clearly annoyed with Senate attempts to slash up to $100 billion in spending from the $819 billion package the House passed last week.
At the same time, she urged the need for speed in passing the package — and stopped short of saying that she’d insist on her demands during upcoming conference negotiations with the Senate.
“Washington seems consumed in the process argument of bipartisanship, when the rest of the country says they need this bill,” the California Democrat said, seeming to sweep aside the Obama administration initial desire to have broad GOP support for the plan.
“We must have a bill [quickly],” she said, in a clear message to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has spent the past two days wrangling with moderates who want to cut proposed education funding for the states by as much as $50 billion.
“These cuts are very damaging — [the House bill] was put together very carefully. ... The funding goes directly to school districts, they are stimulative because they maintain jobs instead of cutting jobs.”
Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), said: “Her comment really makes one wonder whether she understands the concerns of not only the majority of struggling Americans seeking tax relief and job creation, but many members from her own party.”
Pelosi’s increasingly partisan tone comes a day after Obama stepped up his pressure on Republicans, who have sought to downsize spending and increase tax cuts. They have been joined in their efforts by a coalition of centrist Democrats in the upper chamber, led by Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, who has criticized the House stimulus as wasteful and ill-targeted.
The speaker, who spent early Friday huddled with Democratic governors, reiterated her strong opposition to increasing tax cuts. In January, she convinced Obama to decrease the tax cuts in the package from about $300 billion to about $250 billion.
The new Senate cuts, if passed, “will do violence to the future,” said Pelosi, who is also pressing a reluctant Obama to repeal Bush administration tax cuts for the wealthy before they expire at the end of 2010.
Earlier, speaking behind closed doors, Pelosi exhorted her House colleagues to "sell, sell, sell" the stimulus package in their districts — cautioning that the next 72 hours will be critical to turn the tide of public opinion for or against the package.
She called Obama's counterattack on GOP stimulus foes last night a "fresh approach."
Education groups are flooding Capitol Hill with calls and e-mails to fight the push by Nelson and Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins to slash about $50 billion from proposed new federal grants for state education aid.
The 3.2-million-member National Education Association, one of the biggest union backers of Democrats, has sent a letter to Senate Democrats threatening to lower their rating with the group if they vote against the original level of school aid funding.
"We strongly urge your opposition to the Nelson-Collins amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that would cut funding allocated for education. Votes associated with this issue will be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card for the 111th Congress," wrote NEA execs Diane Shust and Randall Moody.
I would wonder how I ever learned to read in an un airconditioned school using 20 year old textbooks, if I pay attention to these education greed-heads.
“Every month 500,000,000 Americans are losing their jobs” (there aren't that many Americans)
“It was called the Great Depression. I don't know why they called it that but that's they name they gave it. (too stupid that, in this instance, the word ‘great’ meant huge not terrific)
This woman is only in the job of Speaker because she's a woman. What an embarrassment to sane and intelligent women!
Working overtime to reinvigorate the Republican Party. If anyone can do it, she can.
why don't you start with the democrats. Once you have gotten rid of all of them then you worry about the Rinos.
Actually, I think the entire republican senate should just vote “Present”. and let the democrats own the whole thing. In fact, just walk out and let them turn the country into the cesspool they want (the dems), Folks will be so fed up, they will demand that the term democrat party forever be stricken from the books.
She has 500 million reasons a month to pass this bill.
Damn these people.
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