Tonight's prepared speech by Rep. Pelosi (slightly edited for clarity)

Thank you, Karen for that kind introduction and for your bold leadership of the Florida Democratic Party. We in Congress know what an effective leader Karen Thurman is. While we miss her there, Florida Democrats are blessed with her vision and experience.

I am pleased to be in Florida tonight to thank Florida Democrats for putting us back in the majority in Congress!

We won because you elected three new voices for a New Direction:

• A talented leader from a family committed to public service – Kathy Castor!
• An experienced businessman and entrepreneur – Tim Mahoney!
• A legislator effective from the start – Ron Klein!

These Members joined a talented Florida Democratic delegation in Washington.

• A powerful voice in foreign affairs … Alcee Hastings!
• A fighter for veterans’ health care … Corrine Brown!
• An expert on defense and agriculture … Allen Boyd!
• A courageous fighter for voting rights and our Constitution … Robert Wexler!
• A voice for a new generation of Democrats … Kendrick Meek!
• A champion of Florida’s families … Debbie Wasserman Schultz!

Over in the U.S. Senate you have a former House member who has spent his life serving Florida – Senator Bill Nelson!

Last year, we all celebrated the election of a talented businesswoman to state office – Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink!

Thank you to all of the state leaders who keep up the fight in Tallahassee!

I want to especially acknowledge former United States Attorney General Janet Reno.

Under Karen Thurman’s leadership Florida Democrats have a new energy, and now you have the momentum that will carry us to victory in 2008!

Florida Is the Future

Florida will continue to be fertile ground for Democrats because, like our great party, Florida is about the future. When we explore the heavens and stars, our journey begins here in Florida – at Cape Canaveral. When Americans look for new opportunity, they look to Florida – to work in an innovative high tech job sector. And next year, when America elects new leadership, we will look to Florida – to grow our Congressional majority and to help elect the next Democratic president of the United States!

As the Democratic Speaker of the House, I take special pride in the actions we’ve taken to keep our promises from the last election for a New Direction.

In the First 100 Hours we signaled change by:

• Raising the minimum wage;
• Making college more affordable;
• Making health care more accessible;
• Promoting energy independence; and,
• Enacting the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations.

Since then, we have passed a budget and other legislation which are a true reflection of American values. We put children first by tripling the funding for health care for America’s children; to keep faith with our veterans we passed the biggest increase for VA health care in its 77-year history; to help America’s workers we passed an Innovation Agenda, our Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America Number One. Instead of outsourcing, we’re working to create good paying jobs here at home; after years of Republican neglect, a Democratic Congress raised the minimum wage; to support America’s farmers and ranchers recovering from flood and drought, we provided $3 billion in disaster assistance; we kept our promise to the Gulf Coast with $6 billion for hurricane recovery. And wherever disaster strikes, the federal government must act – never again can we allow another tragedy like Katrina; just this week, we passed a bill that I hope the President will sign to give hope to families through stem cell research. And every day, we will stand behind our rock solid commitment to Social Security and Medicare.

To preserve our planet, Democrats are committed to addressing the climate crisis. The science is conclusive: global warming is happening and can be reversed. In this effort, we join people of faith who believe, as I do, that the Earth is God’s creation, and we have a moral responsibility to preserve it.

Democrats are proceeding in a New Direction with the most open and accountable Congress in history. We must have a Congress that serves the American people, not the special interests. And it must be an America where every voter counts and every vote is counted!

That’s the kind of New Direction the American people endorsed in the last election; that’s the kind of leadership Democrats will provide in the days ahead.

Iraq

Nowhere in their call for a New Direction were Americans more clear than on the war in Iraq.

Democrats are committed to a military that is second to none and will always do what it takes to support our troops. Our men and women in uniform have performed their duties excellently. Tonight, let us honor them and their families for their courage, their patriotism, and their service. [Applause]

Whatever they thought about going into Iraq, the American people have lost faith in the President’s conduct of the war. It is not making America safer, the Middle East more stable, or our military stronger. In fact, it is straining our military readiness.

There is special concern that too much has been asked of the National Guard. With troops and equipment in Iraq, our states are less capable of responding to crises. You know that all too well with the arrival of hurricane season.

Democrats are proposing a vision for stability in the Middle East. In the months ahead, we will support a redeployment of our troops to fight terror, train Iraqis, and protect our diplomats and troops. We will vote to repeal the President’s authority to continue the war. The best way to support our troops is to bring the troops home. [Applause]

Weary of War

In my recent travels as Speaker, I have met with presidents, prime ministers, and kings. But what impressed and inspired me the most were my encounters with young people.

The young people I met in my travels are weary of war. They want an end to violence whether in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the genocide in Darfur. They want to know if their leaders have the political courage to make the decisions necessary for peace. They want a future and want to know if their leaders can produce economic opportunity, health care, and education for a better future. They want to end global warming and preserve the planet – God’s beautiful creation.

That’s what I heard in the Middle East, and that is what I hear from young people here at home. Because of that unwillingness to accept the world as it now is – the impatience of youth – they will insist on a New Direction and a better future.

Democrats will give that New Direction and build that brighter future. We’re bringing a message of positive change to the American people. In 2008, our optimism will lead us to victory, and Florida will lead the way.

As I look out over this crowd of Florida Democrats I am certain that you are ready for victory …

Ready to move Florida in a New Direction …

Ready to take back the Florida legislature …

Ready to increase our Democratic majorities in the House and Senate …

Ready to win the White House for the American people!

Thank you, Florida Democrats, for leading the way!

God bless you, and God bless America.