Pelosi Presents Dems’ Agenda at IOP

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., addressed a packed crowd at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Friday afternoon, presenting a new “Innovation Agenda” and speaking about the importance of women in politics.

Pelosi, who as House minority leader is the highest ranking woman in congressional history, laid out a five-point plan that included a call for improved public education, more funding for research and development, universal broadband access, energy independence, and a better regulatory climate for small businesses.

Each proposal was further broken down into specific planks, with provisions such as universal health care access—which Pelosi said would reduce costs for small businesses—and the addition of 100,000 scientists and engineers to the workforce—which Pelosi said was essential to maintain U.S. economic competitiveness.

“These commitments, taken together, represent a Democratic decision in favor of the future,” Pelosi said. “Democrats have challenged Congress and the country to renew our commitment to public-private partnerships.”

Pelosi attacked those who opposed her proposals on fiscal grounds, saying that Republican-backed tax cuts and the war in Iraq—which she labeled a “grotesque mistake”—are the real culprits for the large federal budget deficit.

“There will be those who say that we can’t afford these investments—Democrats believe we can’t afford not to make them,” Pelosi said. “These are critical priorities for our nation, [and] we intend to submit them to the rigors of pay-as-you-go budgeting so they will not add to the deficit.”

Pelosi’s agenda, while not entirely new, is a part of Democratic efforts to find specific policies around which the party can coalesce. The agenda is based on a similar five-point plan unveiled in early October by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., a member of Pelosi’s leadership team and the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In addition to the agenda, Pelosi sought to inspire the crowd, referencing such revered figures as civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. She also repeatedly invoked former President John F. Kennedy during the speech, quoting from his famous call to “send a man to the moon.”

“The president for whom this great institution is named challenged our nation to set our sights even higher than before,” Pelosi said. “As [he] said, ‘The vows of this nation can only be fulfilled if we in this nation are first, and therefore, we intend to be first.’”

Jama Fitzgerald Adams, a Kennedy School of Government (KSG) student and former Pelosi staffer, introduced Pelosi to the crowd, speaking highly of both her former boss and the agenda that she unveiled.

“It’s fitting that an innovator such as Nancy Pelosi should be introducing such a bold innovation agenda,” Adams said. “I’m really excited about this agenda, especially since it does so much to unify our party.”

Student reactions to the speech were generally positive, though there were a few sharp questions during the question and answer session.

“I thought she did a great job laying out the agenda,” Caroline C. Corbitt ’09 said. “[She also] did a good job responding to the questions, particularly to those [pointed] questions that were entirely irrelevant to the rest of her speech.”

Earlier in the day, Pelosi spoke to a group of women from the KSG as part of “From Harvard Square to the Oval Office,” an initiative designed to train women to run for political office.

Her speech was co-hosted by the Harvard College Democrats, the KSG’s Democratic Caucus, and the KSG’s Women and Public Policy Program, which runs the “Oval Office” initiative.