Atlanta – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Congresswoman Nikema Williams for a press conference following a roundtable discussion on Atlanta history and the Inflation Reduction Act.  Below are the Speaker’s remarks:

Speaker Pelosi.   Thank you very much, Congresswoman.  You've talked about: ‘It's never too late.’  Since you're talking about time, I'll talk about time as well.  Every now and then, in time, circumstances come together which produce such a positive result that is transformative For The People, for the society, for the community.  That happens to be right now: with Congresswoman Nikema Williams in the Congress, with her knowledge and dedication to connecting the community with the legislation that was passed – not just one bill, but several bills, to make connecting the community possible.  And with a President, President Joe Biden, who has a commitment to equity and justice and diversity and inclusiveness.  All of this coming together now bodes well for the the goal that the Congresswoman spelled out.

When we passed the Infrastructure bill, people said, ‘Is this going to be more of the same?  Building things that divide communities?’  We promised that it would not; in fact, that it would connect communities.  And in the bill, there is a Reconnecting Communities Pilot program: a billion dollars to take us down that path.

That was not enough.  And in the Infrastructure – excuse me, the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation that was just passed and signed by the President, we have $3 billion more for Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants.  This is not all that we need, but it's a running start on it.  And it is part of something so much bigger: $370 billion to save the planet.  The air our children breathe, the water they drink – but that's very connected to the roads that go through their neighborhoods.

Reverend Foster was telling me that this is one of the busiest, busiest roads that was built that separated communities.  It's so busy that it has caused higher rates of asthma in the community.  So it's not just about the infrastructure piece; it's about the clean air, clean water piece. There are many pockets we can put our hands into.

For Georgia, which is a state that has many small businesses, that's one place we can invest in.  When they're talking about electric cars, electric vehicles — that's something that's happening here.  That's another place that we can capitalize on.  Whether we're talking about the workforce – and we're talking about the beautiful diversity of the workforce here and how we want more women to be making these decisions, having these jobs, owning equity in these companies.

So the work – the personnel are here, the purpose is clear.  The opportunity exists in this legislation, and there's nothing — there is nothing that adds more to the pot than to have a good example of how to get things done.  So applying for a pilot program with a big picture at hand, showing this to the Cabinet – different aspects of the President's Cabinet, so that he is aware and telling him about this.  This is his – what he set out to do.  This is the judgment we will make as to whether we have succeeded.  And this community is a place that has the unity of community, the intellectual resources, the sense of community – and that word has the word unity in it.  Community has the word unity in it.  And that's why the Reconnecting Communities pilot is so important to all of us.

The bill is very important in many other ways.  And it is part of at least five bills that we had.  The Rescue package put shots in arms, money in pockets, children safely at schools, people back to work, money to cities and states and municipalities and counties to meet the needs of essential workers who really make our society function.  And then we did the Infrastructure bill, which we talked about.  And then we did the legislation that I didn't talk about, the CHIPS Act, but [the CHIPS and Science Act] is another place that we can reach in for funds for this purpose.  And now this.  And I'll just mention one other: the PACT Act for our veterans.  

Again, this is about the quality of life, putting People Over Politics: lowering costs, bigger paychecks, safer communities.  You're a model here to the nation and model of national significance.  It's my pleasure to be here and take the story back.  But you don't need me to do that, because you have an excellent – now, I served with John Lewis for over 30 years in the Congress.  It is my privilege to call him colleague.  It was my honor to call him friend.  I spoke at his service in Washington, I spoke at his service at Ebenezer, I miss him every day.  But I know how proud he is of the great leadership and service of Congresswoman Nikema Williams.  I know how respected she is here, I want you to know how revered she is in the Congress of the United States.  When she speaks, Members listen.  They heed her word.  And she is a great messenger for this District.

Thank you, Nikema, for the – Congresswoman Williams, for the opportunity to be here today.

Q.  I want to ask – I know there was about $3 billion set aside.  How do people here in this area access that money, and how soon can it get here?

Speaker Pelosi.   You want to speak to that?

Congresswoman Williams.   I haven't seen you in a while.  

So the question was, ‘How will people access the funds and how soon will they be available?’  I'm glad you asked that question.  Because if you go to grants.gov and put in the search method, ‘Reconnecting Communities,’ the pilot program is available right now.  And you can apply for your organization, for your neighborhood by October 13th at 11:59 p.m.  And that is just for the pilot program.  So the pilot program is up available and running.  And people should go to grants.gov and search for Reconnecting Communities to see if they're eligible and to apply.

Q.  I wanted to ask, what would this look like?  How is this reconnecting communities – and I know that you're talking about smaller businesses too.  But also, it's important to big businesses too. 

Congresswoman Williams.   So we're very intentional about making sure we get the community impact.  So it is not my decision on what this looks like.  It is up to the community leaders that we've been meeting with.  I started these conversations months ago, to bring together the stakeholders so that we were not repeating the mistakes of our past and making decisions without the input of the local community.

Infrastructure.  That's a TIGER grant at work, Speaker Pelosi.

So what we are – we're being intentional about bringing community stakeholders together.  In some communities, that has looked like making – building bridges and the underpasses so that it is green space.  And it looks like a place where people want to walk and get to the other side of the interstate.  And in some communities, that has looked like rerouting interstates.  We don't think that the – as you said, the Grady Curve is going away.  But we need to make sure that we're bringing the community into these conversations so that the businesses that are impacted, the residents, the historic pieces of infrastructure that we have, like Big Bethel, are a part of that conversation.  And that's why we started this early.  That's what the pilot programs are about, so that we can see what works and invest as we move forward.

Speaker Pelosi.   If I just may on that, in that regard, the community involvement is essential to its success.  I'll use a phrase that doesn't sound very nice.  But when we allocate resources, we want to see dirt fly — we want it to happen.  So in order to avoid lawsuits and prolonged discussions – the more ready everyone is to begin with.  And that can only happen with the community involvement.  And when their judgment is made about what projects to choose, the degree of community involvement is a gold star.

Q.  Speaker, with — I can't go without asking — with less than 70 days ‘til Election Day, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the House.  And possibly — Congresswoman Nikema Williams’ colleague Sanford Bishop is one of the races that we’re following closely.

Speaker Pelosi.   Well, I have to ask the Reverend if I can talk politics right outside of the church here.

Speaker Pelosi.   We have enough distance?  Okay.  Well, with your permission.  Amen.  

Yeah, well, let me start with Sanford Bishop.  Sanford Bishop is what we call a Cardinal in the Congress.  That means he's the Chairman of a Subcommittee of Appropriations.  This is, like, the highest honor.  We don't have a Pope in Congress — a Cardinal is the highest honor.  And he is one.  He's the Chair of the Agriculture [Subcommittee].  And he has done great things for our entire society and our entire economy, but particularly to help with poor farmers in our country and the rest.  And again, with legislation to reduce the cost of food as inflation weighs in there.

So he's a high priority for us.  He's a great leader of, for — now, think of Georgia.  Georgia has the Chairman of the authorization committee — of the Ag Committee — and the Chairman of the Approps — where the policy is made and where the money is allocated.  So his race is very important to us.  It's of the highest priority, and it would make a big difference to the people that he represents.  He's a – how can you say it – operational Member of Congress.  He has his vision and he has his goals.  And then he knows how to work with Members to get the job done.

I have never – and Nikema can tell you this, and she, I think, shares this view –  we have never, ever thought that the Democrats would not hold the House.  We have been working on this since the last election, owning the ground with our mobilization at the grassroots level, owning the ground, getting out that vote.  I used to be a state party chair before I came to Congress.  Nikema has enough hours in the day to do both and be a mom to Carter.  

So we – that, and then we had our fundraising for the money part that we have believed that we could win, and people trusted in our plan.  And then the third is our messaging.  People Over Politics, lower health care – lower costs, bigger paychecks, safer communities.

So when the Supreme Court decision came down, and people said: ‘Oh, you got lucky.’  We said: ‘No, we made our own luck.  We made our own luck.’  We have been ready for this.  It isn't one of those things where you say: ‘Oh, too bad.  We didn't think we could win.’  No.  We always knew we could, because we had to.  Our democracy is on the ballot.  Our democracy on – our freedom is on the ballot.  Woman's freedom to have freedom about her own reproductive and health needs.  Kitchen table needs of the American people on the ballot.  

How they – again, in our bill, in this bill that we jumped with joy when we passed, this bill lowers the cost of prescription drugs.  For the first time, we’re able to negotiate for lower prices.  Not one Republican voted for the bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs, to lower the cost of insulin for millions of families who need that.  So, again, we're about the kitchen table, lower costs, bigger paychecks, safer communities.  And also we're about our Constitution, the oath we take to uphold it.  But we're ready.  We are ready organizationally, we are ready financially, we are ready message-wise, and we fully intend to win.  And we fully intend to do so with Nikema Williams serving, once again, in the Majority in the House.

Q.  Thank you, Speaker.  Do you have any concerns about David Scott’s opponent?

Staff.   We are running out of time, so –

Speaker Pelosi.   I have great confidence in David Scott.  He can – he handles his responsibilities very well in the Congress.

Q.  Do you think it would be helpful for President Biden to campaign with candidates if it doesn’t make sense?

Speaker Pelosi.   Sure.  Thank you.

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on the August jobs report, which showed that the U.S.

Atlanta – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Congresswoman Nikema Williams for a press conference following a roundtable discussion on Atlanta histor

San Francisco – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), which has advanced out of the Energy and Com