Speier becomes Congress' newest member, is booed by Republicans

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(04-10) 11:45 PDT American Capital - --

Newly elected Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough was sworn into United States Congress this morning time and delivered a fiery address criticizing President Bush's Republic Of Iraq policy that led some Republicans to hoot and walk out of the House chamber.

Speier, who won a particular election Tuesday to fill up the place of the late Rep. Uncle Tom Lantos, was always an vocal lawmaker in her old age as a San Mateo County supervisor, state Assemblywoman and state Senator. She served notice Thursday that she bes after be just as aggressive as a member of the House.

"The procedure to convey the military personnel place must get immediately," Speier told brother lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. "The president desires to remain the course of study and a adult male who desires to replace him proposes we could be in Republic Of Iraq for 100 years. But Dame Speaker, history will not justice us kindly if we give four coevals of Americans because of the foolishness of one."

While Democrats applauded, Republicans began a chorus of low boos. Some Republicans who had congratulated her just minutes before, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), walked out of the hallway in protest.

Speier's 13-year-old daughter, who was watching from the House gallery, asked, "Why are they booing my mom?"

After her speech, Speier said she had held more than than 60 populace meetings in recent hebdomads and the most common inquiry was, "When will we acquire out of Iraq?" She said didn't anticipate the negative reaction from Republicans but it didn't trouble oneself her.

"That's the armed combat that travels on here," she said. "I'm not a newbie to this process."

Wearing a bright redness overcoat, the 57-year-old Democrat was met with clinches from colleagues, including some Republicans, when she walked into the House chamber this morning. Her friend, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, gave her somes kiss.

After being sworn in by Pelosi, Speier delivered a address that praised her predecessor, Lantos, who died in February of esophageal malignant neoplastic disease after serving more than than two decennaries in Congress. Speier said she recently corrected a talker in her territory who said she was "replacing" Lantos.

"I had to laugh," she said. "I was elected to win Congressman Lantos. No 1 will ever replace him."

Her election to United States Congress was a homecoming for Speier, who served as legal advocate in the 1970s to former Peninsula. Rep. Lion Ryan. Ryan was gunned down at the Co-Operative Republic Of Guyana airdrome in 1978 by following of cult leader Rev. Jim Jones, and Speier was also critically injured in the attack. Ryan's daughter, Erin, attended the swearing-in and received a standing ovation.

Of her old boss, Speier said, "I learned from one of the best."

Pelosi, who is close to Speier after old age together in Golden State politics, said, "We are all so proud of her. We all knew - one manner or the other - that she was going to come up back here."

About 60 of Speier's friends and households attended the celebration, wearing pins reading "Jackie 435" - a mention to her low-seniority ranking as Congress' newest member. Her son, Jackson, a sophomore at Leland Stanford University, hubby Barry Dennis, an investing consultant, and his mother, Betty, also attended the swearing-in.

Speier was busy today, filling out paperwork and moving into Lantos' old office. She project her first ballot on a measure to better the monitoring and wellness of beaches in the United States. She hasn't establish a topographic point to dwell yet and programs to remain with a friend for a while.

She was elected to function out the remaining calendar months of Lantos' term this year, but to remain in United States Congress she must win a June 3 primary and the general election in November to gain a two-year term beginning in January.

But she's already made clear she is aiming high, even as a fresher lawmaker.

She bes after to buttonhole Pelosi for a outstanding commission assignment, and her top marks are the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Congress' head fact-finding panel, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which she said would let her to work on issues such as as consumer protection, planetary heating and probes into waste material and fraud.

Speier also said she have no programs to bespeak earmarks - which she said are often "individual member slush funds" - and hopes to work with United States Congress to reform the procedure of securing federal money for local needs.

"I don't desire to disadvantage my district," she said. "(But) I really do desire to make a statement about how this procedure have to change."

As a member of Congress, Speier also goes a superdelegate and could play a cardinal function in the Democratic presidential race. She have endorsed New House Of York Sen. Edmund Hillary Clinton, but she would not state Thursday how she will project her ballot at the Democratic national convention in August.

E-mail Zachary Coile at .