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A little-known virus is causing a big fuss in Micronesia, the Pacific island nation partly managed by the United States. The Zika virus, spread by mosquitoes, produces an itchy rash, pinkeye, joint pain and fever. Since its discovery 60 years ago in an ill monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda, it has caused rare cases and outbreaks in Africa and Southeast Asia. There is no specific treatment or vaccine. Now Zika has made its first appearance in Micronesia, on the island of Yap, where health officials say there have been at least 42 confirmed cases and 65 probable ones....

In what could be a way of lowering expectations for next Thursday's big economic speech, aides to President Obama are privately spreading word that he will not present his entire jobs plan in his address to a Joint Session of Congress. Aides say Thursday's speech will be part of a bigger plan the White House will roll out throughout the fall with the president hitting the road for speeches and town hall appearances. Aides have already confirmed that Obama will be traveling to California, Colorado, and Washington state for one three-day swing later this month that will include economic events...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 09/15/2008 Pelosi on Financial Market Turmoil: We Cannot Afford to Continue Failed Republican Economic Policies Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to the troubling news in the financial markets: “In the midst of a dire economic situation, President Bush this morning characterized recent market developments as an ‘adjustment’ that can be painful for investors and employees of the firms, while Senator McCain said the ‘fundamentals of our economy are strong.’ President Bush, Senator McCain, and their Republican Party are out of touch and...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hitting back directly at President Bush and congressional Republicans on energy and gas prices. Pelosi (D-Calif.) will deliver the Democrats’ weekly radio address, which is a response to the president’s weekly address to the country. She will take aim at Republican energy policies, highlighting Bush's and Vice President Cheney’s background in the oil industry, and lay out the Democrats’ latest plan for energy independence and addressing high gasoline prices. “America faces a choice: a continuation of the Bush-Cheney-McCain approach that perpetuates the failed policies that have produced soaring prices,” Pelosi will say, according to a...

Last update: 2:06 p.m. EDT July 30, 2008 WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to remarks by President Bush on energy this morning at the White House: "The President knows, as his own Administration has stated, that the impact of any new drilling will be insignificant - promising savings of only pennies per gallon many years down the road. Americans know that thanks to the two oilmen in the White House, consumers are now paying $4 a gallon for gas. But what Americans should realize is that what...

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called President George W. Bush "a total failure" who "has no ideas," in an interview with CNN. Responding to stinging criticism from Bush on the Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress and the slow pace of the legislative agenda, as Congress prepares for its one-month summer recess in August, Pelosi let loose: "You know, God bless him, bless his heart, the president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject." Pelosi, 68,...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/14/2008 Pelosi Statement on President Bush Lifting the Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush's announcement lifting the executive ban on drilling in protected coastal areas: “Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil. "The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands...

Pelosi: Drilling in protected areas ‘a hoax’ By Jared Allen Posted: 07/10/08 01:28 PM [ET] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday shut the door on expanding oil and gas drilling beyond areas that have already been approved for energy exploration, drawing a clear distinction from her counterparts in charge of the Senate. “This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it’s an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. “It’s a decoy to punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/09/2008 Pelosi: President Must Tap Oil Reserve Immediately Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement reiterating her letter yesterday to President Bush urging him to immediately tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: “The Bush Administration’s own Energy Information Administration announced yesterday that global supply uncertainties and increased worldwide demand are placing great pressure on our oil markets and driving record gas prices. It is time for the President to take the next step to help the American economy and American families and businesses. It took Congressional action to...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 06/18/2008 Pelosi Statement on Bush Call for End to Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in reaction to the President’s comments at the White House urging Congress to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration: “Oil companies are sitting on 68 million acres of public lands they have already leased, but President Bush and Senator McCain want to award them with even more. “Americans are suffering under the Bush-Cheney-McCain...

June 6, 2008 Reid: Bush-McCain Republicans Block Global Warming Bill, Squander Another Opportunity To Strengthen Economy, National Security Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after Senate Republicans blocked the Climate Security Act of 2008: “We saw this morning yet another example of Bush-McCain Republicans refusing to address one of the most important issues of our time. Given the opportunity to solve the urgent energy and economic crises of today and environmental crises of tomorrow, they ran away from the debate. “Time and again Democrats have given Republicans the opportunity to address the rising cost of...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 06/06/2008 Pelosi Statement on Disappointing May Jobs Report; Fifth Straight Month of Job Losses Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement after the Department of Labor released its employment report for May showing a loss of 49,000 jobs, and an unemployment rate that increased to 5.5 percent – the biggest monthly rise since 1986. The economy has lost nearly 325,000 since the beginning of the year: “Today's alarming rise in the unemployment rate is further evidence of the need for a New Direction in our nation's...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/17/2008 Speaker Pelosi Statement on Visit to Iraq Jerusalem - In preparation for Memorial Day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation flew today from Israel to Iraq to express the appreciation of the Congress to our troops for their patriotism, their courage, and their service to our country. The delegation met with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Mahmud al-Mashhadani, the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement: “In the meetings in Baghdad today, I...

Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/16/2008 Pelosi Statement on President Bush’s Failure to Pressure Saudi Arabia to Increase Oil Production Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on record oil prices as news reports indicate that Saudi Arabian officials have rejected pleas from President Bush to increase oil production. In trading today, oil reached a record more than $127 a barrel: “As record oil prices continue to burden American families and businesses, reports indicate that the President’s visit to Saudi Arabia today to push for increased production has failed. Despite considerable influence, the...

Pelosi: Bush Comments 'beneath The Dignity Of The Office' May 15, 2008(The Politico) Democratic House leaders are calling out President Bush for a speech in Israel in which he seemed to suggest that Sen. Barack Obama wants the United States to "negotiate with terrorists." In his speech, Bush said: "Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along." The White House insists that Bush was "referring to a wide range of people, not any single person." But Obama's campaign says it appeared to be...

May 15, 2008 Reid Rejects President's Reckless And Irresponsible Remarks Calls on President to Explain Inconsistency Between Administration Actions and His Words Today Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s remarks before the Israeli Knesset: “Not surprisingly, the engineer of the worst foreign policy in our nation’s history has fired yet another reckless and reprehensible round. More than seven years into his Presidency and in the sixth year of the directionless Iraq war, President Bush has yet to learn that his brand of divisive partisan rhetoric is precisely what has made...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/15/2008 Pelosi Statement on California State Supreme Court Ruling on Gay Marriage Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in reaction to the California Supreme Court’s decision today to strike the state ban on gay marriage: “I welcome the California Supreme Court’s historic decision. I have long fought against discrimination and believe that the State Constitution provides for equal treatment for all of California’s citizens and families, which today’s decision recognizes. “I commend the plaintiffs from San Francisco for their courage and commitment. I encourage California citizens...

Pelosi: Bush Administration’s Energy Policy is ‘Drill and Veto’43 minutes ago To: POLITICAL EDITORS Contact: Brendan Daly or Drew Hammill, +1-202-226-7616, both of Office of the Speaker of the House WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Democratic Committee Chairs and Members held a news conference this afternoon to discuss proposals to combat skyrocketing energy prices and create a New Direction for energy independence. Below are the Speakers remarks, as prepared: Two weeks ago, I sent the President a letter urging him to sign legislation that would help American families with the rising price...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/02/2008 Pelosi Statement on Disappointing April Jobs Report, Fourth Straight Month of Job Losses Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement this morning after the Department of Labor released its employment report for April showing a loss of 20,000 jobs, the fourth consecutive month of job losses: “Today’s jobless numbers, combined with slowing consumer spending and nearly flat wage increases, are additional evidence of the need for Congress and the President to work in a bipartisan way on additional steps to get our economy back on...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 04/28/2008 Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Voter ID Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision today on Indiana’s voter identification case: “The Supreme Court’s decision is disappointing. The Court’s decision today places obstacles to the fundamental rights of American citizens—especially the poor, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities—to participate in the electoral process. Requiring American citizens pay for underlying documents needed for an identification card and travel to distant motor vehicle locations for processing hinders—and diminishes—their right to...