Nancy Pelosi speaks at women’s conference

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stressed yesterday the importance of college affordability and… House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stressed yesterday the importance of college affordability and Pennsylvania’s significance on Election Day during a speech at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown.

Pelosi’s speech was part of the United Steelworkers International Women’s Conference, which will run at the convention center through this Wednesday. As Pelosi walked into the crowded ballroom, nearly 1,000 people started chanting, “Best speaker ever,” a phrase that was also emblazoned on bright yellow signs.

Pelosi spent most of her 40-minute speech discussing what she and President Barack Obama have done to help working families, as well as the importance of electing Democrats back into Congress on Election Day, Nov. 2.

Pennsylvania will lead the way in the midterm elections, Pelosi said. This election is about a choice Americans have to make, and as a leader of the Democratic Party, Pelosi said that this country needs to move in the right direction by electing Democrats into office.

“In this election, we have a choice to continue to take America forward or go back to failed policies,” she said.

If Republicans become the majority after the November elections, Pelosi will lose her position as speaker of the House.

Throughout her speech, Pelosi expressed her disgust with the Bush administration and Republican congressmen’s policies toward jobs, the economy, health care and the general direction of the country.

Republican protesters outside the convention center disagreed.

As they chanted for the members of Congress they want elected in November, the United Steelworkers gathered on the patio of the building to defend their love for Pelosi.

During her speech, Pelosi addressed the lack of jobs in the United States. She said it is not enough just to create more jobs, but rather it’s necessary to make better and more stable jobs.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has done its part in saving and creating 3.6 million jobs, Pelosi said.

Despite the improvements that came with this bill, she said she is still not satisfied with the rate of job creation.

Pelosi also spoke about one of her initiatives in Congress, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill seeks to end wage discrimination and establish equal pay for equal work in the workplace. The House passed the bill, and it is up for a vote in the Senate after the fall recess.

Pelosi also mentioned her “Make It In America” initiative, which she said will help restore American manufacturing.

“We believe that if we manufacture it in America, we enable people in America to make it in America,” Pelosi said.

Since Obama took office, Americans have seen increased funding for Pell Grants and decreased rates on student loans. Pelosi said she has made it a priority to make higher education more affordable to working families.

Part of the health care reform bill put all federal student loans under the federal government, rather than private lenders.

Pelosi also touched on the hotly debated issue of health care, which she said she felt is “a right for all, not just a privilege for some.”

The health care reform law made many changes to the industry, including increasing the age that children can stay on their parent’s health plan to 26 and stating that children can no longer be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

Pelosi said that she is often asked by people how she managed to get the health care bill passed when so many people were opposed to it. She replies by saying that she was going to do whatever she had to.

“When pushing open the gate failed, I was going to climb over the wall, pole vault over the wall or parachute over the wall,” if all other options failed, she said.