Pelosi Commends Passage of Fiscally Responsible Budget Resolution

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks at a news conference in the Capitol late this afternoon with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, and House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt after the House and Senate each approved the Budget Resolution Conference Report.  Below are Pelosi's opening remarks:

'Thank you very much, Leader Reid.

'I wish to associate myself with your remarks in praise of this very important budget today.  I want to join you in commending the exceptional leadership of Chairman Kent Conrad and Chairman John Spratt.

'Because of them, we have a budget that we can be proud of.  Because of them, we have a budget that is a statement of our national values, as a budget should be.  The Democrats promised the country a new direction and as Leader Reid said, this budget is the blueprint for our new direction.

'It provides tax cuts to middle-class families, reduces the deficit, follows 'pay as you go' principles, and balances the budget in just five years.  And it addresses the concerns of America's working families.

'I'm very proud of the vote that we had in the House of Representatives today as well as your vote, Leader Reid, in the Senate.  In the past several years, under Republican leadership, the budgets have been bloated and stale in their thinking.

'Today we have a budget that is lean and fresh in its thinking.  It invests in the future and innovation in energy independence, education of our children.  It's a budget for the future, and I congratulate the two distinguished chairmen for their excellent work.'