Statement by Wade Henderson on Speaker Pelosi’s Leadership on Civil and Human Rights

Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on Speaker Pelosi’s leadership on civil and human rights:

“The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a nonpartisan organization that does not take positions on elections or party leadership choices within the House and Senate. As a coalition of more than 200 national organizations, The Leadership Conference has a long track record of working with members of both major political parties to advance civil and human rights as nonpartisan issues that strengthen our nation and put the American Dream within reach of every person in the United States.

Given the recent debate regarding Speaker Pelosi’s decision to run for House minority leader in the 112th Congress, The Leadership Conference believes it is important to note that Pelosi has been a leading champion of civil and human rights since joining the House in 1987. Based on The Leadership Conference’s nonpartisan Voting Record, published each year since 1969 and available online at https://civilrights.org/advocacy/voting/, Pelosi has one of the longest and strongest records in Congress of support for civil and human rights..

Without equivocation, Pelosi’s leadership as speaker has resulted in one of the most successful periods for passing long-delayed but essential legislation that advanced the cause of civil and human rights. The victories include the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Fair Sentencing Act that reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, an expansion of state children’s health insurance that eliminated the unjustifiable discrimination toward children of immigrants, and important anti-discrimination provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Absent Speaker Pelosi’s leadership, these gains would not have been accomplished.”

###

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.