Presidential candidate Rick Perry challenged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to a debate in Washington about his Overhaul Washington plan. Perry told Pelosi he would be in Washington Monday and would like to talk about his plan versus the congressional status quo.

Pelosi responded to his debate challenge at a news conference. She said she would be busy visiting Portland, California and “that’s two…I can’t remember what the third thing is,” reports The Daily Beast.

The comment is a dig at Perry’s recent GOP debate appearance where he said he would eliminate three agencies of government: commerce, education and, after a long pause, admitted to not remembering the third agency and said “I can’t. Sorry. Oops.”

Perry’s Overhaul Washington plan would make Congress a part-time legislature.

Perry’s Wednesday request to Pelosi requesting the debate was obtained by The Hill:

Dear Leader Pelosi,

After reading about House Minority Whip Steny Hoyers' outburst over my "Overhauling Washington" plan, I wonder if his obstructionism reflects your own opposition and that of the Democratic Caucus to urgent reforms the American public so vehemently demand.

After increasing the debt by $4 trillion in less than three years, no one can truly believe that Americans are satisfied with business as usual, and that a permanent political class in Washington can get us out of the mess you and your colleagues have created.

A part-time Congress with half the pay would still make $38,000 a year more than the average American Family. Do you truly oppose lawmakers spending more time in their districts? Is it so important for the Washington power brokers to build their fiefdoms of influence, including providing bailouts to Wall Street while businesses on Main Street are being boarded up every day?

Here is the fundamental question: do you believe Washington is broker? Before answering that question, consider these facts:

1) The Washington metro area is now the most affluent metropolitan area in the country because lobbyists, contractors, elected officials and bureaucrats have been insulated from the economic ruin prevalent in the private sector.

2) Congressional office budgets have doubled since 2000 while employers all across America are laying off workers

3) our nation's total debt is nearing the size of our nation's economy, increasing our dependance on competitors like China

4) the number of Americans out of work has increased by more than two million since January 2009, despite the massive stimulus package Democratic leaders promised would revive the economy, and;

5) on top of the job-killing spending policies of the previous Congress, employers are faced with a staggering $1.1 trillion in costs related to federal regulatory compliance.

Do you truly believe the answer to massive debt, over-regulation and bloated big government policies is to continue to protect the status quo, which enriches and empowers Washington insiders at the expense of the American people?

My plan would overhaul Washington, eliminating certain agencies and reducing the size and scope of others. It will force Congress to make the tough decisions to balance the budget or require a further reduction in their pay. It would end lifetime appointments to future appointees to the federal bench. I don't want to tinker around the edges when the American People demand a complete overhaul of Washington.

Let me conclude with an invitation: I am in Washington Monday and would love to engage you in a public debate about my Overhaul Washington plan versus the congressional status quo.

I think it would be a tremendous service to the American public to see a public airing of those differences. Let the people decide.

If Monday doesn't work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America's heartland.

Should you choose not to respond or engage in such a healthy discussion, I will take it to mean you will continue your obstructionist ways in the face of much needed Washington reform.

Sincerely,

Rick Perry

Governor of Texas

Perry’s support slipped to 7 percent in a poll released Wednesday by Fox.

 

Reach associate news editor Hannah Madans here.