Pascrell Celebrates Speaker Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today celebrated the remarkable career of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi upon her announcement that she would step down as leader of House Democratic caucus after nearly 20 years.

“If they were chiseling a Mount Rushmore for House leaders, I can promise you Madame Speaker would be on it,” said Rep. Pascrell. “In the coming days many celebrations will be written, rightly, about Speaker Pelosi’s historic tenure. That she was the first woman Speaker, and highest ranking Italian-American in our nation’s history, are monumental milestones to be sure. But reflecting today what strikes me most is that Speaker Pelosi is so good at her job. When your ship steers smoothly through choppy waters you take for granted that a captain is guiding it forward. So it is with our House and our Speaker. Speaker Pelosi’s calmness under any pressure, her steely precision, her directness, her pragmatism make her an unmatched leader.

“I was there for all the debates and all the trench warfare and let there be no mistake: the reason the Affordable Care Act passed is because of Speaker Pelosi more than anyone else because she saw the one path forward and took us there. Senator Phil Hart once said of Washington that you can achieve anything here if you do the work and let others take the credit. My friend Nancy Pelosi did the work, and she deserves the credit too.”

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