Pelosi proud of Wisconsin quorum-breakers

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The 14 Wisconsin state senators who left the state this week to block a vote should be admired, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said.

"I'm very proud of what they're doing," Pelosi told The Hill newspaper. "They're standing up for the rights of America's working men and women to have a voice at the table about their jobs and their futures, so yes, I support them."

The senators staged what opposition Republicans called truancy from Madison this week to boycott a vote on curbing collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees, the report said.

The bill has the support of Republican Gov. Scott Walker and appeared ready to pass in the GOP-controlled Senate, but the 14 Democratic dissenters' absence meant there wasn't a quorum.

Republican officials requested the senators be sought by police to force their return to Wisconsin, but federal officials said no crime had been committed, reports this week said.