Blog Post

The Supreme Court's decision represents a step backward for the American people and our nation's political process. In lifting the limits on corporate influence in our elections, the Court opened the door to new avenues of corruption and placed special interests ahead of the public interest. With today's ruling, the voices of average Americans could be drowned out by Wall Street banks, big oil, health insurance companies and other special interests.

We cannot allow special-interest dollars to dictate the details of public policy.

Americans are responding with generosity and compassion to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, donating their hard-earned money and time -- which can literally mean the difference between life and death to many Haitians and others struggling through this tragedy and devastation. Today, the House unanimously passed legislation (HR 4462) to provide an immediate benefit for those who have already given and incentive for those who are considering a charitable contribution.

Today, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter to President Obama inviting him to deliver a State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday, January 27, 2010:

January 19, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama

The President of the United States

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The thoughts and prayers of the entire Congress are with the people of Haiti. The United States and Members of Congress remain committed to helping the Haitian people recover from this latest disaster and rebuild their homes, communities, and lives in the days and weeks to come. The Obama Administration has launched a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and support the recovery in Haiti, including an immediate investment of $100 million to support the relief efforts for life-saving equipment, food, water and medicine that will be needed.

Today, President Obama proposed instituting a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee collected from the biggest and most leveraged banks and Wall Street firms that received taxpayer assistance through the TARP program saying:

As with House consideration of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, Speaker Pelosi is committed to having the final health insurance legislation online for at least 72 hours before the House votes on it. From our twitter feed on health insurance reform:

Google is to be commended for taking action in response to cyber attacks originating from China targeting Chinese human rights advocates, and the intellectual property and corporate data of Google and more than 30 other companies. The announcement that Google will fully review its business operations in China and will no longer tolerate censorship of its search engine should serve as an example to businesses and governments.

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake centered just outside Port-au-Prince hit Haiti this evening. Speaker Pelosi: