Nancy Pelosi

Annie, Bella, & Jen

Why is Nancy Pelosi Important?

• Nancy Pelosi is the first female to be selected as the Democratic Leader and Speaker of the House of Representatives ever in the history of the U.S Congress

Background Information

• Birth name:Nancy D’Alesandro

• Born: March 26, 1940

• Birthplace: Baltimore, MD

• Hometown: San Franciso, CA

• Religion: Catholic

• Party: Democratic

• Only daughter out of 5 siblings

Education Information

• Graduated a BA, Trinity College, which is now called Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, D.C. (Class of 1962)

Family

• Father served in congress/as mayor of Baltimore for 12 years

• Mother is a famous filmmaker of documentaries

• Brother served as mayor of Baltimore

• Married to a businessman named Paul Pelosi and has 5 children and 8 grandchildren

Nancy’s Children

Alexandra Pelosi

Paul PelosiChristine Pelosi

Jacqueline Pelosi

Nancy Corrine Pelosi

Political Journey

• First volunteered for Democratic Party

• Became CA rep in Dem. National Committee (1976-1996)

• House Representative for CA 8th District (1987)

• First Woman as Democratic Leader of the House (2002)

• First woman as Speaker of the House (2007)

Other Policitical Postions

• Senior member of House Appropriations Committee• Created Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS• Member of House Permanent Select Committee on

Intelligence (10 years)• Ranking Democrat (2 years)• Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) • Banking and Financial Services Committee• Congressional working Group on China• Executive Committee of Democratic Study Group

Published Book

• In 2008, Nancy Pelosi along with Amy Hill Hearth released a book called “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters.”

Forbes Magazine

• On August 28, 2008, Nancy Pelosi was voted number 35 out of 100 most powerful women in the world.

Pelosi’s Voting Platform

Abortion:

• Pro-stem cell research, human cloning research

• Pro-choice stance/voting record– Most of her votes are

pro-choice

Civil Rights:• Advocate of women's rights• Nancy is against preferential treatment for

minorities• Pro-civil rights• Pro-gay rights

Jobs:• Pro-union

– This means that she is for unions, groups of employees formed together to negotiate for what they want

Crime:

• Pelosi wants to replace death penalty with life imprisonment

• She wants to make appeals on death penalty easier

• There should be more funding/strict sentencing for hate crimes

• DNA is required for execution

Education:

• There should be money for grants in black/hispanic colleges

• It should be requires state testing

• She desires to reduce class sizes

Homeland Security:

• Require warrants for wiretapping• She doesn't encourage military action (ie,

commercial airlines carrying guns)

Immigration:• Immigration restrictions should be loosen

Drugs:

• No military border patrols against drugs/terrorism

• She feels that there is a need to protect federal employees against random drug tests

• She wants to legalize medical marijuana

Energy/Oil:

• Taxes should be raised for energy conservation

• Her view on the ANWR is that the drilling in the ANWR should be prohibited

• She against Bush's energy plans

Tax Reform:

• Considered a "big spender" in tax voting

• Supports progressive taxation

War/Peace:

• Nancy Pelosi’s view on war is that she wants to pull troops out of Iraq.

Principles/Values:

• Support church-state separation• Priorities: prosperity, opportunity, security

Health Care:

• Nancy wants to "make healthcare a right, not a privilege"

• Health care should be made so that it include more people, easier access

• There should be more funding for women/family coverage