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(SEATTLE, WA) -- The release of a Government Accountability Office report showing that the Department of Defense cannot account for more than 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 is another in a long list of signs pointing toward the need for accountability and a new direction in Iraq.  With the security situation deteriorating and billions of dollars being poured into the war, the time for change is now.Senator Patty Murray, a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said: “This troubling report is yet another example of how the Bush Administration has...

Reid: President's Flawed Iraq Strategy Distracts Us From Effectively Fighting An Emboldened Al Qaeda Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s remarks about Al Qaeda and the war in Iraq: “The President’s claim that the war in Iraq is protecting us from Al Qaeda is as misguided and dangerous as the conclusions that drove us to Iraq in the first place. The fact is that our continued flawed strategy in Iraq is emboldening and unifying Al Qaeda, both in that country and elsewhere. “Despite what the President would like us to...

Democratic Leaders Call On President To Address Intelligence Indicating Growing Al Qaeda Threat Washington, DC— Senate Democratic Leaders Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Charles Schumer and Patty Murray today sent the following letter to President Bush, asking him to inform Congress on his near- and long-term strategies for addressing the heightened terrorist threat. The Leaders also urged President Bush to change course in Iraq so we can refocus our efforts on the growing Al Qaeda threat that still exists nearly six years after 9/11. The text of the letter is below. July 12, 2007 The President The White House Washington, DC...

Bush Surgeon General Pick Manipulated Medical Studies to Advance Anti-Gay Ideology In the latest example of the Bush Administration putting an extreme right wing ideology ahead of sound science and public policy, President Bush nominated Dr. James Holsinger to serve as America’s next Surgeon General. Holsinger’s nomination to serve as the nation’s top doctor for the next four years comes despite his troubling record of manipulating medical studies to make ideologically-motivating, anti-gay arguments. According to reports, Holsinger authored a paper outlining what he viewed as a medical argument for why homosexuality isn’t natural or healthy. Experts said the paper, used...

Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/31/2007 Pelosi: President’s Announcement Fails to Respond to the Severity of Global Warming Crisis Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush’s call for an agreement to establish a global target for reducing greenhouse emissions: “Having returned this afternoon from a bipartisan fact-finding mission to Greenland and European capitals that focused on global warming, I have to say I am disappointed by the President’s announcement today. After years of inaction and denial, on the eve of the G-8 Summit, the President has finally acknowledged the...

Reid: Congress Must Change Course In Iraq, Refocus Strategy On Fighting Terrorism WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released the following statement today in response to President Bush’s remarks this morning: “The President today made the best case yet for why Congress must insist on a change of strategy in Iraq. Intelligence analysts concluded long ago that Iraq has indeed become a training ground and recruiting poster for a new generation of terrorists. That is exactly why it is so important to change course from the President’s failed Iraq strategy to a new strategy that more effectively fights terrorists. “Recently,...

Pelosi's Office Calls GOP Demand for Action on Iraq Bill 'Political Stunt' Monday , April 09, 2007 WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office charged Monday that Republicans had engaged in a "cheap political stunt" when they sent her a letter accusing Democrats of stalling on passage of the critical war funding bill. The spat is over the current bill Congress is considering to pay for ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also includes money for Gulf Coast recovery and farming initiatives. Both the House and Senate have passed versions of the bill — the House version is $124...

Releases Contact: Brendan Daly 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 03/15/2007 Pelosi: Administration’s Admissions This Week Demonstrate that Bush’s Iraq Policies Not Working and Necessitate New Direction in Iraq Washington, D.C – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on news stories today on Iraq on a new Department of Defense report stating that “some elements of the situation in Iraq are properly descriptive of a ‘civil war’” and on reports that the Bush Administration is admitting that the Iraqi government will not meet benchmarks for progress in Iraq: “The Bush Administration made two admissions this week that demonstrate that the...

Escalating Our Military Involvement in Iraq Sends Precisely the Wrong Message Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Richard Durbin released the following statement tonight on President Bush's address to the nation on the war in Iraq: “Last November, the American people delivered a strong message of no confidence in the President's Iraq policy and clearly expressed their desire for a new direction. The President had an opportunity tonight to demonstrate that he understood the depth of the concern in the country, make a long overdue...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 01, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi: Bush’s Vote of Confidence for Rumsfeld Ensures a Continuation of Failed Policies in Iraq Washington, D.C.– House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush saying this afternoon that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should remain in the Administration until the end of his presidency: “President Bush may have put an end to his ‘stay the course’ slogan, but today he provided further evidence that he has not abandoned his ‘stay the course’ strategy. President Bush’s declaration that he wants Secretary Rumsfeld to remain...

Bush’s Failed Energy Policies Lead To Record Profits For Oil Companies Today, ExxonMobil announced that “its third-quarter earnings rose to $10.49 billion, the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.” Royal Dutch Shell also “beat all forecasts with a 21 percent rise in underlying third-quarter profit.” These earnings reports come “as high crude prices this year have fueled record profits in the oil industry” which has triggered “an outcry from consumers who were being asked to pay about $3 a gallon for gasoline in early August.” [AP, 10/26/06; Reuters, 10/26/06] “These record profits for oil companies...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 19, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi: ‘Voter Suppression of Minorities Cannot Be Tolerated’ Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on media reports that a voter suppression campaign against Latino voters in Orange County, California may be connected with a Republican Congressional campaign: “The ugly voter suppression activities against Latino voters in Orange County are illegal and disgraceful. Those activities violate federal and state voting laws, and must be investigated and prosecuted by law enforcement authorities to the fullest extent of the law. “Voter suppression of minorities cannot...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 18, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi: It’s Time for a Change, Not Republican Business as Usual Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to a story in The Hillreporting that House Republicans feel “there would be little need for reassessments or rehabilitation if they retained control of the House in the 110th Congress.” Specifically, Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) said: “If we hold it together, I don’t think you will see any change at all.” “Ethical and legal scandals have plagued the Republican-run Congress – from the...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 17, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi Statement on Signing of Military Commissions Bill Washington, D.C.– House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the military commissions bill that President Bush signed into law this morning: “Democrats voted overwhelmingly to go to war in Afghanistan so that those responsible for the 9/11 attacks would be brought to justice. More than five years later, because of the failure of the Bush Administration to devise a legal process that could withstand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, not a single person who planned the...

The Bush Administration's Failed North Korea Policy Today, President Bush addressed North Korea’s announcement of their alleged nuclear test over the weekend. Over the last four years, the Bush Administration has outsourced our diplomacy with North Korea to other nations and failed to take the lead in making sure America remains safe and secure. “Today's announcement is further evidence that President Bush has taken his eye off the ball, allowing a member of the so-called ‘axis of evil’ to allegedly test a nuclear weapon,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. “First, President Bush aided and abetted the outsourcing of...

Pelosi says she would drain GOP 'swamp' By DAVID ESPO, AP Special CorrespondentFri Oct 6, 1:58 AM ET Franklin Roosevelt had his first hundred days. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule. As in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats — in her fondest wish — win control in the Nov. 7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history. Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link...

Relishing the prospects of a triumph, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday promised to restore integrity and civility to the House if voters put her party in control this fall. "We'll turn the most closed and corrupt Congress into the most open and honest Congress," Pelosi, D-Calif., told The Associated Press in an interview. She spoke five weeks before the midterm elections as the House ethics committee opened an investigation into an unfolding sex scandal that led to Rep. Mark Foley's resignation and calls for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to step down. "The only way you can make the...

'Republican Party Imploding,' Pelosi Says By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Senior Editor October 05, 2006 (CNSNews.com) - "We are winning" says the subject line of an email that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi beamed to Democrats on Thursday. "After years of unbridled corruption and deception, under the pressure of a relentless Democratic surge, the Republican Party is imploding with just over 30 days left before Election Day." Pelosi was writing on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a group that raises money to elect Democrats to Congress. "The Republicans are desperate," Pelosi said. "The only thing they have left to...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 04, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616 Pelosi: ‘Republican Leaders Put Partisan Politics Above Protecting the Children in Their Trust’ Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on news reports that Speaker Dennis Hastert’s office was told two years ago about former Republican Congressman Mark Foley’s repugnant behavior by Kirk Fordham, Congressman Tom Reynolds’ former Chief of Staff, who resigned today. “Mr. Fordham’s statement is even more evidence that Republican Leaders chose to put partisan politics above protecting the children in their trust. “Conflicting stories between Republican leadership and Republican...

GOP Implodes Over Foley Scandal The GOP era of corruption and ethics problems continues with the report that disgraced former GOP Congressman Mark Foley sent shocking and sexually explicit messages to former under-aged Congressional pages. As a result, the Republican leadership is crumbling with calls for Hastert to resign and questions of why other members of the leadership failed to take action-including from their own allies. Many Republican supporters, conservative groups, have spoken out and are furious at the GOP leadership. The Foley scandal is just one more example of the House Republicans' failed leadership. GOP IN DISARRAY Buchanan: Hastert...