Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the bill has passed Congress, but has been stalled by the President.

Question: How will you implement your innovation platform?

Nancy Pelosi: The policy has been passed overwhelmingly for innovation agenda. Even with the opposition of the Republican leadership, we had a majority of the Republicans voting with us. So from a policy standpoint it's passed the Congress. It was called the COMPETES Act [The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (COMPETES)].

It's paying for it that is a problem for the President of the United States [George W. Bush]. They don't want to pay any bills.

And so these investments in research and development and education that are essential to innovation, that our country needs, need to be paid for. We put some money of that into the supplemental, calling an emergency, putting it in the supplemental--not enough, but a signal that science and research and development is essential to innovation and we intend to follow through.

Recorded on: June 24, 2008