Pelosi Remarks on the Economy After Meeting With President Bush at the White House This Afternoon

January 22, 2008

Washington, D.C.--Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with other bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leaders, met with President Bush at the White House this afternoon and discussed a bipartisan economic stimulus plan. Below are the Speaker's opening remarks at a press stakeout following the meeting:

'Good afternoon. We just had a productive conversation with the President on the stimulus package. The purpose of the meeting was to hear a report on the President's trip to the Middle East. And we spent a good deal of time on that subject as well, and a great exchange with the President on that.

'But on the stimulus package, we talked about doing something as soon as is legislatively possible -- something that is targeted and something that is temporary, in order to inject a stimulus into the economy.

'We know, throughout the households of America that many people are living paycheck to paycheck. And they need this economy to turn around. We want them to feel the full benefit of it.

'Now we see across the world that the state of the economy in the U.S. is having an impact as well. So the urgency we feel at home is now even more urgent as we see the impact of our markets on others.

'I look forward to working in a bipartisan way, and our conversations continue, and again, recognizing the legislative constraints that we have. I feel confident that we will have a bipartisan agreement.'