Pelosi Remarks Following Democratic Caucus Meeting

"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.  I thank you and the Vice Chair, Mr. Crowley, for, once again, another very productive Caucus meeting with the full agenda, the highlight of which was Mr. Clyburn's presentation with Congresswoman Grace Meng, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and Congressman Cedric Richmond – three young, new faces out there to engage and reach out to the public.  We're observing the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act.  Many of us were in Selma.  Crossing that bridge was a bridge to the ballot.

"As our Chairman, Mr. Becerra, said, very important things are happening here that affect people.  Public opinion affects us.  Abraham Lincoln said: ‘Public sentiment is everything.'  And we want to make sure that Democrats, Republicans, everyone who is here understands the public view of how they are affected by what we do here.  And I cannot be more pleased, I really am thrilled and proud of how My. Clyburn has led this initiative, taking advantage of the 50th anniversary, recognizing other great things happened 50 years ago, which he will go into, how they are at risk now, how important they are to the public, how important the public's weighing in on it is.  I'm not just talking about in elections; I'm talking about as we go forward.

"So thank you, Mr. Clyburn, for your great leadership.  You were part of the Civil Rights Movement.  You were part of the Voting Rights Act then, as a very young person of course.  And now you're here to protect all of that, and more importantly, take us into the future in a larger way – inspired by what happened 50 years ago, concerned about the risk to it right now, but understanding what needs to be done in the future.  Thank you, Mr. Clyburn.  Thank you, Mr. Chairman."