Free Republic

November 6, 2007 Reid: As 2007 Becomes Deadliest Year Of War For U.S. Troops, We Must Refocus Our Efforts On Al Qaeda Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: “Yesterday we reached another tragic milestone in Iraq. With the death of five young Americans, 2007 has now been the deadliest year for our troops of the entire war. Our thoughts are with the families of these five latest American victims of the Iraqi civil war. Our hearts go out to the...

October 26, 2007 Reid: Bush Recklessly Spends Overseas, Ignores Investments In America Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s comments this morning: “President Bush’s speech was an announcement of his intent to continue turning his back on the priorities of the American people: giving police officers the resources they need to protect our communities, ensuring children can see doctors when they are sick, improving education and changing course in Iraq. Democrats are working to address the needs Republican Congresses have severely under-funded, but President Bush – the biggest-spending President in 40...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 10/26/2007 Pelosi to Bush: ‘The Days of the Fiscally Irresponsible Rubber Stamp Congress Are Over’ Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to President Bush’s comments this morning: “The President fails to grasp a basic tenet of fiscal responsibility—you must pay for what you spend. The President would rather spend another $200 billion in Iraq and leave our children to pick up the tab than make fiscally sound investments in veterans’ health care, cancer research and health care for 10 million children. “Congress is...

October 22, 2007 Reid: President's New Iraq Funding Request Again Demonstrates His Priorities Are Not Those Of The American People Reid also reiterates importance of improving flawed temporary surveillance law the President signed in August Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: “Today the President is asking Congress for more than $40 billion in additional funds for the war in Iraq and for Afghanistan. That would bring the total he has asked for in emergency funds for this year to nearly...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 10/22/2007 Pelosi: ‘Colossal Cost of Iraq War Grows Every Day’ Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on President Bush’s request for an additional $42 billion from Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bring the total request to $189 billion: "Demanding nearly $200 billion for Iraq while vetoing health care for 10 million children exemplifies the Bush Administration’s misplaced priorities. On key issues – from the Iraq war to children’s health insurance – the President continues to oppose the will of the American people and...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 10/05/2007 Pelosi: Once Again, Bush Administration Proposing to Increase Rx Drug Premiums for Millions of Seniors Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on news reports of a proposal by the Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress that would increase costs for beneficiaries of the Medicare prescription drug program: “Once again, the Bush Administration is proposing to increase premiums and deductibles on millions of seniors’ prescription drug costs. This ill-conceived plan is the result of the Bush Administration not paying for the poorly-designed drug plan Republicans...

War Justifies $23 Billion More in Domestic Spending, Dems Say By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer October 04, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - Congressional Democrats' proposed increases in discretionary spending - $23 billion more than President Bush's request for the 2008 Fiscal Year - are justified by spending on the war in Iraq, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats. Bush asked for $933 billion in discretionary spending in his budget request. The Democratic proposals would raise that figure to $956 billion. Cybercast News Service went to Capitol Hill Wednesday to ask elected officials this question: "Do you support...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 10/03/2007 Pelosi: Subprime Crisis Demands Action — Congress Will Protect Families Who Have Lost Their Homes Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi was joined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other House and Senate Democratic leaders at a news conference this morning in the Capitol to offer a plan to stem the rising tide of home foreclosures created by the subprime mortgage market crisis. Below are Pelosi’s opening remarks: “Thank you, Leader Reid. Today, our country faces a challenge that threatens the economic security of our economy and the...

October 1, 2007 Reid Calls On Senators To Join In Condemning Limbaugh's Attack On Our Troops Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate, urging Senators to sign a letter that calls on Mark P. Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications, to publicly repudiate Rush Limbaugh’s characterization of troops who speak out against the Iraq war as “phony soldiers.” Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: “Freedom of speech is one of our country’s most cherished values. Nothing sets us further apart than the countries and regimes we oppose...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 09/24/2007 Pelosi: ‘Mr. President - Drop the Partisan Rhetoric, Put Down the Veto Pen’ Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today following President Bush’s remarks this morning on fiscal responsibility. Below are documents on the Administration’s record on fiscal policies and the New Direction Congress’ Commitment to meeting our national priorities -- in a fiscally responsible way, using pay-as-you-go with no new deficit spending: "The President has no credibility on matters of fiscal responsibility due to his astonishing record of compiling historic deficits over the last...

For Immediate Release 09/17/2007 Pelosi: ‘Next Attorney General Must Restore Public Trust That Has Been Eroded by Bush Administration’ Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush’s nomination of retired federal Judge Michael B. Mukasey for U.S. Attorney General: “The President today nominated a former federal judge with a distinguished career to be the next attorney general. “An Attorney General must be independent from political influence and have deep respect for the Constitution of the United States. The next Attorney General must restore the public trust that has been seriously eroded by the subversion...

September 13, 2007 Senator Jack Reed Responds To President Bush's Address On Iraq Washington, DC—Senator Jack Reed tonight will deliver the Democratic response to the President Bush’s address to the nation on Iraq. Excerpts of his speech follow: “…Tonight, a nation eager for change in Iraq heard the President speak about his plans for the future. But once again, the President failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rationale to continue it. The President rightfully invoked the valor of our troops in his speech, but his plan does not amount to real change....

September 10, 2007 Reid: Continuing President Bush's Surge Into Next Year Is Not In Our National Interest Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to General David Petraeus’s and Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s testimonies before the House: “Today, we heard that the Bush Administration likely intends to keep at least 130,000 troops in Iraq through next summer. Our enemies around the globe gain great advantage by having the United States mired in an Iraqi civil war. Clearly, continuing to pursue the President’s flawed escalation policy until at least July 2008 is not in the national...

Press Release of Senator ReidWashington, DC— As we approach the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Democratic Senators Robert Menendez and Bob Casey joined Matt Bennett of Third Way at a press conference today to discuss Democrats’ efforts to help make America more secure and how President Bush’s flawed strategy in Iraq is distracting us from targeting a resurgent Al Qaeda. Far from keeping Osama bin Laden on the run, as President Bush promised in 2001, he is building up his terrorist network and now plans to release a videotape ahead of next week’s anniversary of...

"Alongside continued weakness in wages, health care and housing, today's disappointing jobs number is only the most recent indication that the Bush Administration's simplistic supply-side economic strategy is not working for working Americans. "On President Bush's watch, seven million more Americans have joined the ranks of the uninsured, nearly five million people have fallen into poverty, typical household income has fallen nearly $1,000, our national debt has increased 55 percent, and we face a growing crisis in the housing market and a yawning gap between the richest Americans and everyone else. "For seven long years, the economic hardships facing hardworking...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 08/27/2007 Pelosi: ‘Resignation of Attorney General Gonzales Is Long Overdue’ Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “The resignation of Attorney General Gonzales is long overdue. The rampant politicization of federal law enforcement that occurred under his tenure seriously eroded public confidence in our justice system. “The President must now restore credibility to the office of the Attorney General. Given the serious loss of public trust and the disarray at the Department of Justice, the American people must...

Dean: It's About Time Gonzales Resigned Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the news of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation: "It's about time that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned," said Dean. "From illegally firing US Attorneys to limiting voting rights to warrantless wiretapping, Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department has promoted a culture of lawlessness designed to serve the Bush White House's narrow political agenda, not the American people. Gonzales now joins a long list of Republican officials resigning under a cloud of scandal, but these resignations cannot purge the Bush Administration of its problems. The true...

08/22/2007 Kerry Statement on Bush Speech to the VFW FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2007 CONTACTS: Amy Brundage/Vincent Morris, 202-224-4159 BOSTON – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today made the following statement in response to the speech today by President Bush to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City, Missouri in which the President invoked comparisons to the Vietnam War to defend his war policy: “Invoking the tragedy of Vietnam to defend the failed policy in Iraq is as irresponsible as it is ignorant of the realities of both of those wars,” Senator Kerry said. “Half of the soldiers whose...

Reid: NIE Highlights Need For Urgent Change In Iraq Policy Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today, following the release of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq: “Today’s National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq confirms what most Americans already know: Our troops are mired in an Iraqi civil war and the President’s escalation strategy has failed to produce the political results he promised to our troops and the American people. Our troops have done everything asked of them and more. Unfortunately Iraq’s leaders have not. And as today’s NIE makes clear, a political solution is extremely unlikely...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 08/22/2007 Pelosi Statement on President Bush’s Speech on Iraq Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks today at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City: “In an attempt to justify his stay-the-course strategy in Iraq, President Bush is offering false lessons from history. The American people have already judged the President’s war in Iraq as the wrong war at the wrong time, and are ready for our troops to come home. “Whatever improvements in security that may have...