Politics

Pelosi, Democrats Furious Over Netanyahu ‘Condescension’

Published

9 years ago

March 4, 2015

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. turns to talk to her colleagues in the House chamber of Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2015, during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before a joint meeting of Congress. In a speech that stirred political intrigue in two countries, Netanyahu told Congress that negotiations underway between Iran and the U.S. would “all but guarantee” that Tehran will get nuclear weapons, a step that the world must avoid at all costs. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Md. is at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi politely stood and clapped when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the House chamber for his long-awaited, and highly controversial, speech to Congress. The longer he spoke, the less enthusiastic she got.

At one point, when Netanyahu suggested his nation’s relationship with the United States should be above politics, Pelosi looked at her lap and shook her head. When he declared that, “if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand,” Pelosi threw her hands up in exasperation. More than once, she turned to her deputy, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and appeared to vent. And even before Netanyahu had begun his ascent up the center aisle toward the exit, Pelosi pivoted and headed out a different door and into the Democratic cloakroom.

“I was near tears throughout the prime minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States,” she fumed in a statement afterward, adding that she didn’t appreciate “the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.”

Pelosi’s was the highest-profile sign that Netanyahu had inflamed his relationship with some congressional Democrats with his address to Congress, a 39-minute warning that Obama’s negotiations on limiting Iran’s nuclear capability would all but guarantee that Tehran gets nuclear weapons. Even as he spoke, the Obama administration pressed on with those talks, and the president dismissed Netanyahu’s speech by noting that “foreign policy runs through the executive branch and the president, not through other channels.”

More than four dozen Democrats skipped the speech altogether, offended by an array of developments before they even got to the policy substance of the speech itself.

House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu, without first notifying Obama, was one. The speech coming so soon ahead of election day in Israel was another.

Then there was this sight: Netanyahu standing at the podium where the president delivers the State of the Union speech, framed by two Republicans seated behind him — Boehner and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the president pro tempore of the Senate.

By custom, the vice president sits with the speaker, but Vice President Joe Biden was out of town and didn’t attend. Hatch is next in line.

“It was putting Netanyahu on an equal level with the president of the United States,” said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “And that was wrong.”

Most Democrats, though, attended, because the real issue is how to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. One pushed back against Pelosi and other Democrats who shared her frustration.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was not condescending,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who was one of the lawmakers who escorted Netanyahu into the House chamber. “Every speech contains passages which remind the audience of facts they already know, and conclusions with which they already agree. That is not condescension; that is oratory.”

But Cohen and 11 other House Democrats later expounded on their multiple frustrations with the speech, including the substance. His statement about Israel standing alone particularly chafed.

“I think that’s delusional,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who skipped the speech. “The notion somehow that he thinks that Israel can just bull through this on their own against the world … Israelis don’t believe that.”

“What I heard today felt to me like an effort to stampede the United States into war once again,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who also skipped the speech.

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said the speech was “straight out of the Dick Cheney playbook — fearmongering at its worst.”

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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4 days ago

April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.