Rick Perry says he wants to debate Nancy Pelosi

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will call on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to debate his citizen Congress proposal when he is in Washington next week, Perry spokesman Mark Miner said.

The proposal has virtually no chance of being taken seriously by Pelosi or the House Democratic Caucus, and seems aimed at drumming up some attention from Iowa conservatives for the Republican governor's presidential campaign, which has been trailing in several recent national polls.

"I think it would be a tremendous service to the American people to see a public airing of these differences," Perry said, according to an advance copy of the letter obtained by The Hill newspaper. "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."

Perry will be in Washington to attend a Republican candidates' debate Tuesday night. This week, he released a government reform plan that would make service in Congress a part-time job, slashing in half the salaries and office budgets for lawmakers. Perry says he would cut congressional salaries in half again if the body fails to balance the federal budget by 2020.

The campaign indicated it didn't really expect Pelosi to respond. Its letter goes on, "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."

"Monday I'm going to be in Portland in the morning," Pelosi said. "I'm going to be visiting some of our labs in California in the afternoon, that's two. I can't remember what the third thing is I'm going to be doing."