Pelosi to young Democrats- We need your energy

ST. LOUIS -- Now more than ever, the Democratic Party needs the energy of its younger members, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Saturday during a speech to college-age Democrats gathered in St. Louis.

Pelosi, D-California, spoke to a crowd of about 400 at the College Democrats National Convention on the campus of Saint Louis University.

Pelosi noted that John Kennedy was just above the minimum age for office when he was elected to the Senate, and Martin Luther King Jr. was in his 20s when he began delivering speeches that changed the world.

"I have an assignment for you," Pelosi said. "Are you ready to go out there and fight to change the House of Representatives and elect the first woman speaker of the house?

"Now more than ever we need your energy."

Pelosi laid out a plan for the "first 100 hours" if voters return Democrats to power in November. That agenda would include implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations; increasing the minimum wage; making healthcare and prescription drugs more affordable; renewing efforts to protect Social Security; rolling back subsidies to major oil companies in favor of spending more on alternative energy sources; and improving college affordability.

"We will show a new direction. These are deliverables," Pelosi said.

She called college education "as important today as a high school education was a generation ago. We intend to make college just as available, just as automatic."

The Democratic plan outlined by Pelosi calls for:

--Cutting student loan interest rates in half, a move Pelosi said would save the average student $5,600 in interest alone.

--Increasing the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100 from the current $4,050.

--Expanding and simplifying tax laws relating to tuition, providing for a tax credit of up to $3,000.

A spokesman for the Missouri Republican Party said Pelosi was offering nothing new.

"Nancy Pelosi is hopelessly out of touch with the values of mainstream Missourians," spokesman John Hancock said. "Her plan for big-spending liberalism is nothing more than a rehash of the liberal Democratic wish list of the last 30 years.

"I would think that young voters would respond to real vision and leaderships that Republicans offer."

The College Democrats is a recruiting arm on college campuses. The three-day convention that began Thursday is part pep rally and part nuts-and-bolts planning sessions to strengthen the party with young voters.

"In order to succeed this county needs more young people that share your commitment," Pelosi told the group. "You are going to make all the difference in the world."