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(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday that when Republicans “start flirting with endangering our children, them’s fighting words.”
Pelosi was discussing negotiations with Republicans over a new COVID-19 relief bill.
“Why would they not want us to do our best job by putting resources into the schools to make them safe for our children, whether they’re going actually, virtually or in some hybrid way?” said Pelosi.
“When you start flirting with endangering our children, them’s fighting words,” she said. “Them’s fighting words.
“Why? Are the American people not worth it?” Pelosi said. “I say to them, ‘Is it the price? Are you saying it’s too much? Or is it the money? You’d rather spend it to give tax cuts to the top one percent, 83 percent of what was in your tax cut.’
“We just think that is a values debate,” Pelosi said.
“So, it isn’t about finger pointing and it isn’t about machinations,” she said. “It’s about meeting the needs of the American people, and they know that and that’s not a priority for them. And that’s why we have this impasse at this time.”
Here is a transcript of the part of Nancy Pelosi’s interview with MSNBC where she said that when “you start flirting with endangering our children, them’s fighting words:”
Nancy Pelosi: “Well, again, we represent you. We’re the closest to the people, Members of the House, in terms of the federal government. We know full well. We don’t need anybody to tell us the concerns that our constituents have.
Their concerns go beyond one check with the President’s name on it. Their concerns go to their financial security. Mr. Woodward used a term: a moral choice. This is a moral choice. The Republicans, as usual, are in there ignoring the needs of the American people. ‘Let’s just do this one thing and get them off our back.’
That’s not what this is about. This is about crushing a virus that they refuse to accept the science on. That is what is going to make the biggest difference. Some people say, well, ‘Well, we’ll do this bill, and then we’ll do another bill.’ You think the Administration is going to do another bill? All they want is to have the President’s name on a check, going out, $300, and that’s all he really cares about. But again, this is a moment. This is big. They have a skinny bill, as Chuck calls it ‘emaciated’ bill, for a massive problem.
And I don’t know why you all are not saying to the Republicans, ‘Why don’t you give in?’ You say it to us and we came down $1.2 trillion. And we think we can negotiate within that because we have prospects for what will happen in January and we can go beyond that. But right now, we are not just going to – we think they should come to the table.
Why would they not want to honor our first – first responders, our health care workers, our sanitation, transportation, teachers, teachers, teachers? Why would they not want us to do our best job by putting resources into the schools to make them safe for our children, whether they’re going actually, virtually or in some hybrid way? When you start flirting with endangering our children, them’s fighting words, them’s fighting words. Why? Are the American people not worth it? I say to them, ‘Is it the price? Are you saying it’s too much? Or is it the money? You’d rather spend it to give tax cuts to the top one percent, 83 percent of what was in your tax cut.’
“We just think that is a values debate. So, it isn’t about finger pointing and it isn’t about machinations. It’s about meeting the needs of the American people, and they know that and that’s not a priority for them. And that’s why we have this impasse at this time. But, fortunately, we’ll be able to correct some of it in January. But right now, we have to do more than just have the Republicans check a box.”
