Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sits down for an interview on "This Week" with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
(ABC)
PELOSI: First of all, the congressional budget office only looked at 40 percent of the investments in the bill. By their own admission. So they didn't even take a complete look at the bill. We have a letter from the administration that says 75 percent of the investments will be paid out in the first 18 months.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And they're committed to that?
PELOSI: We're committed to that. And let me just this also. We have a lot riding on it. I don't want to have a legislation that is used to - as an engine for people to put on things that are not going to do what we are setting out to do which is to turn this economy around. I have the most to prove with this package, by the way, and I'm not - the choices we are making are those that will work, that must work. Our economy requires it. America's families need it. This is urgent.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We also heard from Congressman Boehner coming out of the meeting today that again a lot of that spending doesn't even meet the same test you just talked about right now.
Boehner : we have to find a package that is the right size
STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?
PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?
PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy. Food stamps, unemployment insurance, some of the initiatives you just mentioned. what the economists have told us from right to left. There is more bang for the buck, a term they use, by investing in food stamps and in unemployment insurance than in any tax cut.
Nonetheless, we are committed to the tax cuts because they do have a positive impact on the economy even though not as big as the investments.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The crisis in America's financial institutions is not abating, either. And administration officials have signaled that they might need billions more from the Congress to direct to the banks. Are you open to that?
PELOSI: I'm open to resolving the financial crisis in our country. Whatever we have to do will have to be clearly explained to Congress and to the American people as to what the purpose of the money is, why it is urgent, and then accountability for it as it is distributed. if they come back there's going to have to be a justification because people will be very, very disappointed in how his money was dealt with at first.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And many analysts have looked at it and said the only way to really deal with it, these banks are so close to insolvency, dealing with so many toxic assets, that the only way to deal with it fairly without giving a big boon to shareholders, is to have nationalization or partial nationalization of the banks.
Good idea?
PELOSI: Well, whatever you want to call it. There has to be - if we are going to put money into the banks we certainly want equity for the American people.
In other words, if we are strengthening them then the American people should get some of the upside of that strengthening. Some people call that nationalization. I'm not talking about total ownership but we're just saying.
Now how big that investment becomes is - would we have ever thought we would see the day when we'd be using that terminology? Nationalization of the banks.
You see the impact it has on the stock market. Just terrible in terms of the bank stocks going down. Because if you're a shareholder and you see what would be a dilution of your investment because now the federal government - if we're putting - if the taxpayer is putting money up, the taxpayer should have equity.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So it might be necessary?
PELOSI: Well, not by the terminology that you use but some increased investment. Change has to happen in terms of what is done, what the transparency of it is, what the accountability of it is. Only then would be able to pass any additional funding.
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