Blog Post

Senator Barbara Mikulski is a pioneer, forging the path for the generations of women who came after her.

The 112th Congress convened and Leader Pelosi delivered remarks in the House chamber following the election of Rep. John Boehner as Speaker of the House.

Pelosi held an enrollment ceremony with Democratic Members of the House and Senate and service members to sign legislation repealing the discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.

I am pleased Chairman Genachowski and Commissioners Copps and Clyburn acted to adopt enforceable rules aiming to preserve internet openness and transparency. Standing alone, however, the rules fall short of what a truly free and open internet requires--they are not sufficiently clear, consistent or firm to adequately protect consumers and innovative freedom. Accordingly, it is crucial that these rules are vigorously implemented and, if necessary, revisited.

This afternoon, Speaker Pelosi, House Democratic Leaders and Democratic Members of the House joined with representatives from Veterans' Service Organizations including Joy Ilam from the Disabled American Vets, Timothy Tetz from the American Legion, Todd Powers from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Brian Hawthorne from the Student Veterans of America at an enrollment ceremony for the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act:

This afternoon, the House overwhelmingly passed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act (HR 2965). It passed by a vote of 250-175—an even greater margin than the 234-194 vote when the House passed an amendment to repeal the discriminatory policy last May.

Speaker Pelosi in strong support:

Today's Washington Post/ABC News poll is the latest example of strong support by Americans for a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' From the poll:

Last May, the House overwhelmingly passed an amendment by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2011 (HR 5136) to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and has been waiting for the Senate to act. Last week, the Senate failed to move forward on the Defense Authorization bill with the repeal language and as a result, Senators Lieberman and Collins introduced standalone bipartisan legislation to repeal the policy.