Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference with Congressional Delegation to Indo-Pacific Region

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Chairman Gregory Meeks, Chairman Mark Takano, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi for a press conference on the Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon, everyone. Some of us have just come from the White House, where the President really signed a monumental bill: the Honoring our PACT Act for our veterans. It was legislation spearheaded in the House by Mr. Takano, Chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and in keeping with our purpose: honoring our oath to protect and defend, and again, to honor our veterans for their service. As we have said: in the battlefield, we leave no soldier behind – and when they come home, we leave no veteran behind.

Protecting – to defend is what our CODELs are always all about. Defense. That's the justification. We expand that to conclude economic issues, as well as governance issues. Security, economy, governance. To that end, we follow the lead of our President, who made clear that one of his priorities was a strong Asian Pacific initiative to increase our cooperation in those fields: security, economy and governance. It was a remarkable trip, in which I'm very proud to have traveled. We're like six co-chairs of the delegation because we all brought so much to it.

But again, I'm very thrilled – almost emotional about what happened at the White House today. But actually, it's what this week has been about. The CHIPS bill as a national security bill that was signed yesterday. The PACT bill today. Again, yesterday afternoon, the President signing the authorization for our support of Sweden and Finland coming into NATO. And then on Friday, when we pass – when we pass the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act, again, recognizing that [a] strong economy is central to a strong defense of our country.

So again, this – we went to, as you know, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea – Korea, the Republic of Korea – and to Japan. In all of the countries, we met with the leadership of the country. But important to us and central to it was our interparliamentary meetings, to show that we see the role of Congress in strengthening the discussion.

We went with humility. We went with respect: to listen, to learn what their views were about what the President was proposing, and sharing with candor and respect how we saw things. It was very constructive in that way. We also had the privilege of being – well, here we are in some meetings. They're self-explanatory. That's the Prime Minister of Singapore, who welcomed us grandly. But we also paid respects to some of the cultural aspects of their country that they were so proud of – in Singapore, in all of the countries. And perhaps we'll go into that.

Again, six co-chairs. The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, and you'll hear from him in a moment. Mark Takano, Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Suzan DelBene, the Vice Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Member of the Intelligence Committee. And Andy Kim, who cannot be with us – child care. He was gone last week – child care issues. He has two little boys. And he is a former diplomat working in the State Department under President Obama and now Member of the Foreign Affairs as well as the Armed Services Committee. He sort of was our diplomat on the trip, would you say? And we miss him here, but he's available to answer any questions you may have.

It is the beautiful diversity of our trip. Imagine this. The beautiful diversity of the trip, which is self-evident. But Mr. Takano, Japanese American. Mr. Krishnamoorthi, born in India. Andy Kim's parents born in Korea. So the respect for culture, country and differing views – so eminent for all of us on the committee, but some of it directly connected in that way.

The – so what the purpose, as I say, was to talk about defense, economy and governance. And our Members will talk about some of that. But in all, each of the countries, we thank them all for their immediate and strong response to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, to the – especially those in South Asia. We thank them for their leadership and just banning Burma, as I call it, from participating in some of their meetings in reaction to their killing, the execution of four political leaders there and their oppression of political dialogue there. It was remarkable to see but, of course, we talked about, in terms of governance, we talked about COVID. We talked about climate change, and the rest. So it was – it was very valuable. And in different countries, we had specific issues that related to their countries, which we can talk about, if you wish.

In terms of Taiwan, our purpose in going to Taiwan was to say that we have this strong relationship built on the status quo, which we support – which is really important, because they're saying, ‘Well, we're trying to upset –' no. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 – at the same time as our change of recognition – established the terms of our relationship. The three U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances. So there is no departure from that. But in keeping with that, we will not allow China to isolate Taiwan. They have kept Taiwan from participating the World Health Organization, other things where Taiwan can make a very valued contribution, and they may keep them from going there. But they're not keeping us from going to Taiwan. We will not allow them to.

So we think that their reaction – that was our purpose, to salute this thriving democracy. Don't take it from me. Freedom House said: one of the freest democracies in the world. Show our respect for that, for the success of their economy, for the enthusiasm of their young people to embrace a democracy, and others as well, but the young, knowing nothing else except a free Taiwan. So that was our purpose. Their pretext was our visit – for them to do what they normally do, intensified. They didn't do it when the Senate went under Chairman Menendez of the Foreign Relations Committee. They just decided to do it this time.

So in any of that, we're very proud of our delegation. We're very proud of our men and women in uniform. When I talk about security – whether it was at Travis Air Force Base, whether it was in Hawaii where we visited with them and went to the Arizona, and then to Guam on our way to pay our – get their appraisal of the situation in the region, the Asian Pacific. And also to pay our respects to our men and women in uniform, which we did there and we did in the countries that we visited, especially in Korea and in Japan. And in Korea, we had the privilege, led by the General LaCamera, to go to the DMZ to get an up-to-date, current report of the North-South dynamic in Korea. It was interesting to me, because I've been to Pyongyang. I've been to North Korea, it's a horrible place. But again, we were seeing where, at the border, how things were going.

So for these and other reasons, we were very honored to be received. We thank our host – host countries. We spent a good deal of time, in [an] interparliamentary way, in every country – with their Speakers in that. And again, we thank our embassies and our diplomats, who represent us so well and who made our visit such a success.

Just close by saying two things. When we were in Japan, we were beautifully welcomed at the Diet. We went there to pay our respects to Prime Minister Abe, who was a friend of America, and they had their tribute. They'll have more, but this one they invited us to. It was very sad. But again, a connection between our two countries.

And in closing, I just want to thank our President. He has been a President for peace, for security, for economic growth, for good governance. And we're very proud of his initiative, which was the main purpose of our visit and our timing.

With that, I want to yield to our distinguished Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee – excuse me, that's the Senate – the Foreign Affairs Committee. And the place where so much of all of this begins, to praise him for his commitment to our, to our security, our economic success and good governance in all the countries that we are engaged with. Mr. Chairman, Gregory Meeks of New York.

***

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, my colleagues. Thank you very much, Cubs fans, Mariners fans, Yankee fans. What about you?

Chairman Takano. What are mine?

Speaker Pelosi. Yeah.

Congresswoman DelBene. Beyond the –

Chairman Takano. Dodgers. Dodgers, Angels, whoever is –

Speaker Pelosi. Giants and Orioles.

In any event, as you might know, baseball is a big sport in Japan. And we did spend a good deal of time for the Japanese Members of Parliament bragging about their exports to the United States in that regard, and the cultural aspects of our visit were very unifying, shall we say.

When we were in Korea, they had – they said: ‘We understand you like U2 and Bono's music.' So they had these beautiful performers come in playing on – U2 songs on Japanese, excuse me, Korean instruments. We had pictures – you see them there – and then they ended up with a Frank Sinatra. And then My Way.

[Laughter]

And then, oh gosh, in Singapore, what they – what we saw there was quite remarkable. Their park by the Bay Bridge, the big giant tree and all the rest of that. But they take great – they take great pride in their cultures, and we wanted to pay our respects.

One thing I do want to point out: when you see all those empty seats – that's the Diet. You saw those empty seats, in that one film, if you looked up. There's – we're being welcomed in Malaysia – but that's in Korea – in Japan. But in the Diet, you see all those empty seats. They ring the bell, and those seats are filled –

Chairman Meeks. Immediately.

Speaker Pelosi. In a minute – in a second. And we just – like people popped out –

Chairman Meeks. Like every fifteen minutes. That's for sure.

[Laughter]

Speaker Pelosi. They did. In any event, for these and other reasons – and I wanted to – this is the DMZ. This is Panmunjom. That building in the back is North Korea.

There's with the Prime Minister of Japan. We're very honored to be welcomed by him. They're talking baseball there, I guess.

[Laughter]

In any event, there it is – in a minute – 30 seconds to be filmed.

My colleagues have heard me say this again and again. When I was a student, I was at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy – before any of you were born, and perhaps even before your parents were born. But in any event, everybody made a big fuss. And students learn all over the world, and certainly in our country, what the President said to the citizens of America, ‘ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' You all learned that in school, right? Shake your head, yes.

[Laughter]

In any event, he – the next line is what I remembered and struck me, said: ‘Citizens of the world, ask not what America can do for you, but what we can do working together for the freedom of mankind.' And that's what this trip was about. And that's what President Biden is about: working together. No condescension, but consensus building. And that really was our spirit that we brought to this – how can we work together, listening to your priorities, sharing ours with you, finding our common ground, appreciating our shared values?

So in that – in that regard, it was inspiring. We come back informed, inspired and, again, ready to work. And one thing – point that has to be made about this. When China does what it does in the Taiwan Strait or in the South China Sea, it has an impact on America's working families, because you cannot tie up the waterways. That just increases cost.

And as – oh look [at]that – you just saw a picture of somebody with a, with a selfie. That was a dissident from Tiananmen Square, where she – where – because he – and he was – I met him when he was 21 years old, when he came right out of the Tiananmen Square, while people were being crushed under the tanks. And he also happens to be a Uyghur. And Mr. Chairman has been a leader in fighting to show – highlight what's happening in the genocide in China in terms of the Uyghurs.

But in any event, for many reasons, it was a very unifying trip. That's in Korea, too – those people were killed by the North Koreans.

In any event, we're pleased to take any questions you may have. Yes, ma'am? No?

Congressman Krishnamoorthi. Whoa. They're awake. They're awake.

[Laughter]

***

Q. Safe and sound, welcome back. There are some reports that your son was on this trip with you?

Speaker Pelosi. Yes, he was. Yes, he was.

Q. What was his role?

Speaker Pelosi. His role was to be my escort. Usually, we – we invited spouses. Not all could come. But I had him come. And I was very proud that he was there. And I'm thrilled – and it was nice for me.

Q. Did he have any business dealings while he was there?

Speaker Pelosi. No, he did not. Of course, he did not.

Next question. Yes, ma'am?

Q. Madam Speaker, so China announced that its military drills around Taiwan are over today. So would you expect China to kind of stop its saber-rattling over Taiwan for a while? Or do we expect it to use your visit as a pretext and potentially the drills as a game plan to speed up its timeline of invading Taiwan?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, the – I think what we saw with China was they were trying to establish sort of a new normal. And we just can't let that happen.

Mr. Chairman, do you want to respond to that? In terms of – we don't know what China's planning, but we know that they were trying to push their way closer to whatever thoughts they have about the future.

Chairman Meeks. So look: clearly, China had their plans before we took our trip. And what they want to do is to try to deter us from going to visit our friend and ally.

And I think what this trip did, which they did not expect, is show that no matter what President Xi says, we are going to stand by our friends and allies. So I think that China now has to take a different viewpoint on it, because we are unequivocal on what our positions will be with reference to our friends and our allies. The President visiting when he did and talking about being involved in the region – and now, the House of Representatives, led by the Speaker of the House – gave Xi a message that he's not going to dictate to us on what we do and what we don't do.

And so I would hope – I would hope that he now understands he should talk to us on those things that we can work with, as indicated by my colleagues, and with climate, because that's really important to us, and keeping the status quo. Nobody wants to change anything. And so I hope their calculus has changed as they now pull back from the tests in the – in the – the training period that they've done over the last few days.

Speaker Pelosi. Yes.

Q. Thank you so much. So one thing that the Taiwanese envoy has been very vocal about is the multi-billion dollar backlog of foreign military sales to Taiwan, in terms of delivery. I understand this also might be an issue with Japan and South Korea. So in your travels, was this addressed with our allies and partners? And what is being done to address that backlog?

Speaker Pelosi. Do you – who would like to respond to that? Or I can.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi. Yes, that was discussed. This is an ongoing issue. And as you know, given the various needs that we're trying to supply with regard to Ukraine, there's increased stress on the supply chain within the defense industrial base. That being said, I can't go into details, but we are taking steps with regard to this particular issue, and we intend to fulfill all of our obligations to all of our partners and others who are counting on us for these vital supplies.

Chairman Meeks. And I could just tell you that, on the Foreign Affairs Committee, we're working on bills now to help expedite and to reduce red tape to get defense items that are needed out in a quicker fashion. So we're looking at that right now. We may come and have some hearings on it, but we're looking at ways so that we can expedite it on the Committee, as we speak.

Q. Given the comments from the President a few weeks ago saying that the military thought it was not a good idea for you guys to go to Taiwan right now, is this Administration being too cautious when it comes to the issue of Taiwan?

Speaker Pelosi. We really do not address any questions about our travels before a trip. And so in keeping with that, I won't comment on the comments that the President made before our trip. But all I can say is that we're very proud of our military, their preparation, and they're – actually, I think, minimized the impact of the Chinese on our trip. So they – they took very good care of us. I don't remember them ever telling us not to go.

Chairman Meeks. And the other thing they did say – that our soft power in the region is tremendously important, to go along and complement what they're doing in the region, and how we need to work collectively, because the people want to know what we're doing and how we're invested in them. So they really welcomed – from our dialogue – us being there and talking about soft power and how we can engage in the region in that manner, also.

Speaker Pelosi. One more. Yes, sir.

Q. Madam Speaker, thank you. Do you think the Department of Justice or the FBI should come forward and offer some kind of – either explanation or at least context for the raid of Mar-a-Lago? You may not typically do, but given the unrest?

Speaker Pelosi. I think we made it really clear that this conference – this meeting was about this CODEL. I'll be having another press conference the next day or so, about legislation and about whatever else is going on. With all due respect to your question on this subject.

Q. Madam Speaker, I know security was important on this trip, but in terms of security here at home, since this action was taken against –

Speaker Pelosi. I'm sorry, it's hard to hear you.

Q. I said, I know security was important on your trip, but just in terms of security here at home – just in light of the action at the former president's home – is there any concern right now among you or Members about your own security given some of the chatter – this talk about a civil war? Some say it's on par with January 6th.

Speaker Pelosi. Well I, with all due respect, I place your category in the same – your question in that same category. But we did have a briefing that was long planned right – before any of the actions of this week – was long planned for security for Members, all Members of Congress.

On this subject?

Q. Oh yes, Madam Speaker, what was your reaction to China's sanctions against you and your immediate family members?

Speaker Pelosi. There was no reaction. Who cares?

I mean, look, I want to tell you something. Let's enlarge the issue. We're talking about – as our Chairman, distinguished Chairman and others have mentioned – the struggle between democracy and autocracy. Autocracy is a not a peaceful place. So again, whether it's the South China Sea, the Strait of Taiwan, the – whatever's happening in Tibet and the Uyghur regions, Hong Kong and the rest. We didn't go there to talk about China. We went there to praise Taiwan. And we went there to show our friendship to say, ‘China cannot isolate Taiwan.' So that's what it was about. That is incidental to me, of no relevance whatsoever.

But again, we'll be together perhaps tomorrow or the next day to talk about other – other subjects. But for now, again, I want to thank my colleagues. They just were so fabulous on this trip, because they brought knowledge, they brought values, they brought strategic thinking, they brought respect for the people that we met.

And may I just say that, while we praised our troops and General LaCamera who took us around, it was – they were fabulous. As you see, every place we could, we showcased them, praised them and the rest. And on the diplomatic side, we were beautifully represented: Ambassador Kaplan, Ambassador McFeeters, Ambassador Goldberg, Ambassador Emanuel –

[Laughter]

A former colleague, Rahm Emanuel. And then our representative, Oudkirk, in Taiwan.

We praise them for their diplomacy, which is very much the soft power that is important to our security as well.

And let's close by, once again, saluting our President for what he has done in our North Atlantic relations which are so important, as well as his initiative with the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Thank you all so much. Thank you.