Transcript of Leader Pelosi Conversation at 'The Atlantic Presents: The Shriver Report Live'

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Leader Pelosi joined "The Atlantic Presents: The Shriver Report LIVE" in a conversation moderated by Hanna Hannah Rosin, National Correspondent for The Atlantic.  Leader Leader Pelosi highlighted House Democrats' economic agenda for women and families, When Women Succeed, America Succeeds and The Shriver Report, a study by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress on millions of America's working women who are living on the edge of poverty.  Below is a transcript of the conversation:

Hannah Rosin.  So I heard you were recently inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame and that it was in fact…

[Applause]

… a teary ceremony.  It was pretty sentimental.  What was it like?

Leader Pelosi.  It was very exciting to be in Seneca Falls and to be inducted into the Hall of Fame – my whole family and about 20 of our House Democratic women came up from Washington for the ceremony.  So that made it very, very special.  Because for us, this is what we are doing.  These women –  imagine 165 years ago, they left home.  Imagine the courage.  They spoke out, in the home and outside the home.  So on the 165th anniversary in July, we had a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, the House Democratic women.  And some men came too.

[Laughter]

And in honor of those women, standing on their shoulders, we introduced our initiative, ‘When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.'

Hannah Rosin.  So can you talk a little bit about what you've been hearing around the country as you talk about this initiative?  What people have been telling you?

Leader Pelosi.  Well, Hanna, in relating it to Seneca Falls, these women 165 years ago made this first statement: "That all men and women are created equal."  It took decades before we had the right to vote.  Then after the right to vote, some years later, women in the workforce were leaving home, 'Rosie the Riveter' helping to end the war effort.  And then, following that, the higher education of women, women in the professions, women in every aspect of the workforce, and women at home.

But the missing link in all of that was the issue of childcare.  So, our ‘When Women Succeed, America Succeeds' initiative is about three issues that relate to women in the workforce.  As the mayor said, respect – and in this case, the value of women's work.  Raise the minimum wage: Nearly two-thirds of the people making minimum wage are women – clearly over 60 percent.  Pay equity: We had the Paycheck Fairness Act – Rosa DeLauro, whom we saw this morning, is a champion for that.  And paid leave and childcare, early childhood education.  Those are the three elements that we think unleash the power of women.  And we have had a national tour, and then Members in 200 districts across the country are planning sessions with people.  And all of you are ready and working on these initiatives.

So we're very excited about it and that's why we're very excited about the Shriver Report.  Because it gives a much bigger visibility.  It lifts all of this up in the national awareness.  But more importantly, for every individual woman who's working very hard to make ends meet, to balance home and work and the rest, they know that people making public policy understand – to the extent that we can – their plight.

Hannah Rosin.  And what are the kind of things you hear out there?  Do the people talk about the raising the floor, you know, a minimum wage?  Do they talk about childcare?  What is it that the women, or the men, talk about as their first priority?

Leader Pelosi.  Well, it's, of course, the stories.  No matter what we can say about public policy and initiatives and all the rest – we try to have solutions – but the stories are so compelling and so inspiring.  The first event that we had was, as you can imagine, in Rosa DeLauro's district in New Haven.  Rosa's our godmother of all of this in the Congress.  And we're working with Donna Edwards, who is the Chair of the Women's Caucus, and Doris Matsui, in the House, putting this together across the country.  So we started in Rosa's district.  And in Rosa's district, this was the story - you've heard it many times – of a woman who put her life together, a single mom.  All of that.

And she got up to tell her story.  Now she's driving a school bus.  She has full-time work, driving full-time.  But she said: "I'm not going to talk so much about myself as what I see.  And what I see is when I pull that bus up, I can predict what's going to happen.  A mom in tears will be putting her child on the bus, knowing that the child is sick, but having no options.  If she stays home from work – she has no paid sick leave – she's docked her pay.  If she stays home from work more than a few times, she'd docked her job.  She doesn't have a job.  She has no childcare to take care of the child while she's not home.  Nor, can she afford it."  But the paid sick leave piece - and Maria has been such leader on this subject – this paid sick leave piece is a real differentiation.  It really makes a difference in people's lives.  So she says: "I'll see a mom," this bus driver woman, "put the child on the bus.  The child is sick.  In a matter of blocks, either the child will throw up or whatever it is, the other kids can catch.  It's not a good idea all around.  And it really is heartbreaking to see the tears in the eyes of a mom that has to do that."

We went to Doris Matsui's district, in Sacramento, and there it was interesting because, in all the conversation we have about equal pay and pay equity and the minimum wage and paid sick leave and the rest – when you're talking about all of this, be sure to talk not just about childcare, because what's important to women too is elder care.  They're sandwiched in.  In fact, some of my male colleagues, when we approached them about all of this, have said that they have taken more days off for work to care for their parents than they ever did to care for their children.  You can identify with that.

So whether it's women in the military who have emerged and said: "Don't forget.  We veterans, you know, we served our country.  And now we're underpaid."  You know, all that aspect.  But the story that I love best is this:  we're in Hunter College in New York.  And we're having one of these sessions similar to this.  And we're talking about Head Start, or just childcare, any manifestation of it, the President's Universal Child-Preschool Initiative.  But we're talking about Head Start.  So the woman who spoke, she got up there and she talked about her story – five kids, single mom, every plight that you can imagine.  Now she's on her feet.  And now she's going to speak to hundreds of women at Hunter College about her situation.  She said: "I feel very confident about my work and my role as mom.  But I was a little nervous about speaking to all of you women here today.  So I practiced my speech on my children last night.  And I made the speech, and then I said to them at the end: ‘Do you have any questions?' And my four-year-old who's in Head Start said: ‘I just have one question, Mom?  Who gave you permission to use my name in your speech?'"

[Laughter]

You go girl.

[Laughter]

As the mayor said: "it's about respect, self-esteem.  It's about who you are."  And if that isn't an argument for more Head Start.  And I'm pleased that Rosa and Nita Lowey were able to get that into the Omnibus Bill, increased funding there for that.

Hannah Rosin.  So in terms of family leave policies, the U.S. is – I don't even know the nice word – Neanderthal is the real word.  We're basically the only country, we're one of three countries in the world that doesn't have paid maternity leave. We're really, really, really behind.  And so my question is to really think about why?  You've been at it for a long time.  Is it that people think it is counter to American entrepreneurial spirit?  Does it have to do with it being considered just a thing for women?  What is the psychological barrier to having just basic family leave policies that almost every country in the world has?

Leader Pelosi.  We for a long time have been working on Family and Medical Leave Act.  When President Clinton was elected, then we had a president to sign it.  But people like Pat Schroeder and George Miller and Chris Dodd had been working on it for a very long time.  And as newer people came into Congress, we were working on it.  And that's a great thing.  A hundred million families have taken advantage of family and medical leave in our country.  But for many people, it's not paid.  And that's a big difference.  So that's part of this initiative that we have to see change in.  And that's why I'm so grateful to Maria Shriver and the Shriver Report, because everybody is working in so many different ways.  But this raises the visibility of it.  And it gives people the hope that something can be different if they weigh in with their voices, that we can have paid family and medical leave – again, for children as well as for other family members who may be sick.  And it affects men as well as women.  So we just have to get it done.

You're right.  Other countries look to us and say: "What is it that you don't get about this?"  They say the same thing about childcare.  But on this subject, the competition for real talent has made some difference.  If they want to attract real talent, women into the workforce, they're just going to have to adjust some of these policies – and again, if we're going to unleash the power of women.  So with all of this, and I don't want this in any way to be interpreted as a political remark, we have to build the public support for it and make sure that elected officials from all sides of the aisle – different aisles – understand that this is a priority of the American people.  President Lincoln said: "Public sentiment is everything."  He had some heavy lifting to do in his day.  And the public had to be there with him when he did it.  And the public wants this.  Elected officials have to hear that.  And to an extent that changes attitudes to this subject, so that it's not countered with myths like:  "Oh it's going to cost jobs then."  No, no.  It's going to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of America.

It gives people options.  That's why we're so proud of the Affordable Care Act because it does things similar to that, as well, in terms of cost of illness to a family.  But this can be done.  And I think the Shriver Report is a bridge to getting it done.

Hannah Rosin.  But theoretically, this should be a bipartisan issue.  There are as many women struggling to support their families in red states and blue states.  In fact, there are many more women struggling to support their families in red states and then blue states would be my guess.  And yet, you already have some Republicans saying: "They're just raising this as a distraction from what happened with the Affordable Care Act."  It's kind of in the atmosphere that we know that exists today in Washington.  Where's the hope to building bridges or to making this – the way that so many Americans are struggling, women and men – a priority?

Leader Pelosi.  Public sentiment is everything.  I keep saying that.  To the extent that they – we, elected officials –are aware that the public is aware makes all the difference in the world.  We've been planning this for a long time, researching.  What are the main issues in it?  Because there are many issues, as you know.  Prioritizing is very hard to do because everything is important.  So what are we going to focus on?  And it was pay, paid leave, and childcare as our focus for women in the workplace.  We've been planning this for a long time.  We never expected that the Affordable Care Act website was not going to work.  That had nothing to do with our planning, our timing, and the rest.

We were in sync with the 165th anniversary of Seneca Falls Declaration, and the 50-year anniversary of President Kennedy – thank you again, to the Kennedy/Shriver family – the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy signing the Fair Pay Act.  And he was surrounded.  We just had one of our events in Massachusetts under the auspices of the Kennedy Library at the Radcliffe Institute about that anniversary.  And they had the pictures of the women surrounding the President when he signed it and, you know, all of these incredible people including Eleanor Roosevelt.  And they formed the commission on the status of women, and what were their recommendations?  Raise the minimum wage.  Equal pay for equal work.  Childcare, family work balance.

Fifty years ago.  Well, let's just do it.

[Laughter]

Let's just do it.  There's nothing partisan about that.  Let's just do it.

[Applause]

Hannah Rosin.  It is said that women pay more attention to these issues when they legislate than men do.  There is a growing number of women in Congress.  Do you feel like it actually in practice has made a difference to have more women on both sides of the aisle?

Leader Pelosi.  I absolutely do.  And we want more.  And there's certainly not enough.  I know it makes a tremendous difference.  That is not to say that we haven't had some really, as I mentioned, George Miller, Chris Dodd, and others who have been champions...

[Crosstalk]

Hannah Rosin. ... How sad that George Miller is leaving.

Leader Pelosi.  How sad.  But he's happy.  Forty years.  I mean how much more can we ask of him and his family?  But he's really a champion for our children in every possible way.  But it's really important.  And I say this in hopes that some of you are entertaining thoughts of entering the public arena.  It's really important to have many more women there.  It's no bad reflection on men and some of the great work that they've done for issues that relate to family.  But every issue is a woman's issue.  I assure you, that if you have more women in elective office, it will help our national security, our economic security, our academic life – in every aspect, including obviously, all the issues that we know firsthand about and want to improve.  And I'll tell you.  I'll tell you how we get more women.  If you reduce the role of money in politics, and increase the level of stability in the debate, more women will run for office.  And that's a very wholesome thing in the United States of America.

[Applause]

Hannah Rosin.  And why is that?  Is that because women don't like the process of fundraising?  Or it's not why they get into politics?

Leader Pelosi.  Well I've had probably a hundred million dollars spent mischaracterizing who I am.  You would never know that I'm an Italian-American grandmother with that.  And so women see that and they say: "I could never take that.  I would never subject my family to any mischaracterization about me."

And we want women with options.  Not women who just don't have anything else to do.  So women with options have options.  And we're saying, include among those options your service to our country.  Now, I'm one of these.  I say go back some years, a young woman who might be considering this.  And they say: "Well, I could do this, this, or this.  Or I could have somebody spend millions of dollars mischaracterizing who I am.  So that my children come home crying from school from what somebody told them about their mother that they saw on TV."  And again, so that money thing is brutal.

I think women are fully capable of raising whatever money is necessary to do.  It shouldn't happen that way though.  I have a D.A.R.E. out there: Disclose where this money is coming from; Amend the Constitution that overturns Citizens United; Reform so that there's citizen participation and small donors – well, public financing of campaigns; and Empowerment.  Disclose, Amend, Reform, and Empower.  Because it's ridiculous.  Our Founders founded this country for democracy, a government of the many, not a government of the money.  So why don't we say to women: "All these guys got elected over these years.  Now we want you to go raise $5 million and, by the way, subject yourself to $10 million of negative publicity.  And, by the way, if you're forceful in your presentation, you're strident, he's strong."

So you know, we have to make sure that the debate is one of ideas – a competition of ideas and what people have in their hearts and in their minds about how to make the future better for our country.  And I'm telling you to the women, it is so worth it to get in there and to have that opportunity.  And more women, of course, again, nothing could be more wholesome for our country than to have more women in the political process.

Hannah Rosin.  So we're going to move to Q and A.  And we only have time for a few questions.  And while you're thinking of questions, I'm going just going to ask you one last inspirational thing: is it true that you eat ice cream for breakfast?  I think that inspired me...

[Laughter]

...to eat donuts for breakfast when I read that.

Leader Pelosi.  I have been known – I have said, and my grandchildren have overheard this, but I told them: "It's too late for me.  You shouldn't do this."  But If I only had one food – very dark chocolate ice cream.  Morning, noon, and night.

[Laughter]

Hahhah Rosin.  Yes, over there.

Audience Member.  Here, I'll come to you.

Hahhah Rosin.  I'm basically going to choose one person from each section.  We have about three questions worth of time.

Audience Member.  Hi.  Good morning.  Thank you for being here and talking to us today.  My name is Valerie Young.  I'm with the National Association of Mothers' Centers.  As part of my job, I try to encourage women with children to become politically active and to be familiar with the issues.

I'm going to be starting a speaking tour in a couple of weeks talking about the Family Act.  And I want to be able to say to them: "It only takes 'X' number of emails to your elected representative office for them to know."  Years ago, the number was 15.  I got from somebody that if we get 15 faxes, if we get 15 phone calls, we know that each one of those represents thousands in our constituency who's paying attention to the issue.

Can you give me something to say to them?  Nancy Pelosi says that you count because she only needs five, ten, twenty to make a difference to her.

Leader Pelosi.  You have to remember that I have the privilege and honor of representing San Francisco in the Congress.  So anything less than 5,000, we don't even notice.

[Laughter]

A very politically active district.  I would just say that they all should be writing in.  Fifteen really won't make much of dent.  Because those who oppose these issues – and don't ask me why, culturally or whatever – are very forceful on the other side with their messaging.  So whatever it is, the sincerity of it counts for a lot.  You want it to really be a true grassroots message – not astro-turfed, that they figured: "Oh, some organization drummed this up."  But real grassroots.  But I would also say that there's nothing more eloquent to a Member of Congress than the voice of his or her own constituents.  And to the extent that they can make a physical appearance at the office – and I know that's hard because some of the districts are far-flung – but to the extent that somebody who lives nearby can go and say: "I represent 'X' number of people who are concerned about this," it's really important.  Let's put it another way.  Instead of quantifying the number, let's just say nothing really good will happen unless they mail in.  Because we can do all the maneuvering we want on Capitol Hill.  The outside mobilization is what makes good things happen.  Public sentiment is everything.

Hannah Rosin.  Someone from the middle have a question?  Yes, OK.  Go ahead.

Audience Member.  Hi, my name is Dee, and I actually was photographed for the Shriver Report and I also work for an organization called Foster Forward.  And I come from a foster care background.  I was in foster care myself.  And I utilize a lot of the services.  And I actually now got my Bachelor's Degree in Social Work and that's the type of work that I do. But my question…

[Applause]

…But my question is I deal with a lot of youth who don't think that they can make it - a lot of women who are single parents and stuff like that.  My question is, how do we motivate women to 'walk-the-walk' and actually  show these people that, with the proper guidance, we can make this, and be part of this.  I'm nervous, sorry – my mind is scrambling.

Leader Pelosi.  No, you're wonderful.

Audience Member.  But, how do we?  Because before, the mayor, she said: "Support can go so far.  And it's not always about the money."  How can we put more services that are providing that support?  Like I had someone like this ...

[Laughter]

... who like made me put on my cap and gown because I missed my graduation because my daughter was sick and I didn't have a sitter.  How do we get more of these support systems to be part of our lives and then have these women representing these things we're trying to change?

Leader Pelosi.  Well God bless you for your success – your personal success.  And, thank you, for posing that question.  Maria and I have had this conversation, and one of the beauties of the Shriver Report is not only that it gives the big picture to the country about pulling women back from the brink and defining the challenge that is there.  But one of its priorities is reaching out so that women know.  It's not just about changing minds so that we can change votes and change policy.  That's essential because we want to make the difference.  But the difference is made in every person's individual life.  So the outreach that you're doing - the outreach to young women, especially even younger women, so they know they have better prospects than they might think – is really important.  And, as I said earlier, it's a giant kaleidoscope.  There are so many organizations that are contributing to the design of something that looks like a much better future because we are unleashing the power of women.  And that means in their personal lives as well.

So one, in everything that we do, the outreach to making people aware of what their opportunities are is important as changing the public policy.  I know you had Barbara Ehrenreich here this morning with Rosa and I want to just tell you, years ago when she first published the book, Nickel and Dimed, she came and we had breakfast with her, some of us.  And we said to her at that time: "Barbara, do these women" – you know the stories, so I won't go into it that she worked at that minimum wage level – "Do these people know that we are fighting for them to raise the minimum wage and this or that?"  All these issues we're talking about here.

She said: "They haven't the faintest idea."  She said: "I would have gotten caught," – I don't know if she said this morning, but she said: "I would have gotten caught if they'd saw me reading the paper, unless I move right to the sports page.  Because they don't have the time to know about what's going in life.  They've got two jobs.  They're keeping their families together.  They have all these things going on.  They haven't the faintest idea."

So if they haven't the faintest idea that we are making the fight, when we win in some of these fights, struggles, debates, it's really important that they know how it affects them.  And so, that outreach – and that's why the beauty also of the Shriver Report, that I was mentioning to Maria, is the fact that it's getting so much play.  It's something we've been trying for years to say to TV: "Cover this.  This is the story of women in America.  Cover this…"

[Applause]

…And now with her leadership, we are.

Hannah Rosin.  So one last question, please.

Audience Member.  Hi.  My name is Meredith Dotson.  I'm with the grassroots organization Results.  So I wanted to follow up on that.  Because what I have the privilege of training people to do those direct meetings with policymakers to make their voices heard...

[Crosstalk]

Leader Pelosi.  Wonderful.

Audience Member.  And if you could talk a bit more for all the women who are on the brink, who want to make their voices heard, about some of the specific tips of how to be most effective with policymakers?  And generally, how to make sure that we're making these issues real?

Leader Pelosi.  Well I saw a button when I was in New York several months ago.  You'll know when when I tell you what the button said.  It said: "We Love Animals and We Vote."  And this was the Humane Society having an impact on the Mayor's race in New York.  And they did.  I think that people have to know that there's heightened awareness of what the passive do – it doesn't have to be this way.  There's heightened awareness of what can happen.  When we took the majority, in the first 100 hours we raised the minimum wage.  It was the first time that it had been raised in 11 years.  Now, when I leave here, we're going to have a press conference to try to raise it again, long overdue, to a much higher amount.  But, the point is that the Members of Congress have to know that women are aware of what the possibilities are.  And that's not to say that it should be to the advantage of one party or the other.

Because we're there to get a job done.  So if the impact of the activism of women and men on these issues that relate to family is that it changes the thinking, or reshuffles the priorities for Republicans, then that's a success.  It's more important to pass the legislation than it is to win the election.  Unless, of course, they don't want to pass the legislation.  But the fact is, they have to hear again.  Results has done wonderful work.  Thank you for it.  But they have to know that people are aware that these are possibilities.  And they have to also – and this is my life – they have to know we're not going away.  This is not one meeting...

[Applause]

...This is a way of life, until this changes.  Because otherwise people just think "I'll just get through this meeting.  Check the box.  I saw my constituent."  We're not going away.  In the 70s, there was bill on President Nixon's desk for childcare.  People thought he might sign it.  This was long before I was in Congress.  But people that were in Congress at that time thought he was.  But he didn't for cultural reasons.  The conservatives came in and said: "No, we can't have other people taking care of the children."  All that, you can just imagine.

[Laughter]

The fact is the heightened awareness means the fact is we're not going away.  It's similar on immigration.  We're not going away.  Background checks on all guns: we're not going away.  These women's issues: we're not going away.  We'll have an impact.  Elections have ramifications.  But frankly, we'd rather have a change in the law that improves the lives of people – if we had a choice between winning an election or winning a vote on the Floor of the House – that's going to have a positive impact on the lives of America's women.  And that's what the political debate is about.  It's about who governs.  President Kennedy said: "Government has to choose in favor of these issues."  I recently had a visit from a Head of the State, the President of Colombia.  Not university.

[Laughter]

Hannah Rosin.  I was thinking Columbia of Pictures.

[Laughter]

Leader Pelosi.  And he was telling me all these plans that he had for the growth of his economy in his country.  And I said: "Well do tell.  What are you basing this success on?"  He said: "I'm basing this on the increased involvement of women in our economy."  And I said: "Well, you know, we have a slogan.  'When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.'  We fully subscribe to that."  And that's what that country needs: the full infusion of women's energy, entrepreneurship, intuitiveness, sense of balance of what is important in all of this debate.  I know this can happen.  They have to know two things: how important it is to everybody's family-men and women, everybody in the family; and that we're not going away until this happens.  One hundred and sixty-five years since Seneca Falls; 90 some years since the right to vote; 50 years from the Fair Pay Act signed by the President of the United States.  And some of the same issues are still out there.  So we have a golden opportunity.  The Shriver Report lifts this to a higher level of awareness.

It's fabulous.  And let us thank Maria.

[Applause]

Hannah Rosin.  And let's all thank Nancy Pelosi for all the hard work she's done on behalf of the things we care about.