1 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,633 The President: Over the past few weeks, as we've debated reforms to hold

2 00:00:08,633 --> 00:00:11,065 Wall Street accountable and protect consumers and small

3 00:00:11,066 --> 00:00:13,767 businesses in our financial system,

4 00:00:13,767 --> 00:00:16,500 we've come face-to-face with the great power of special interests

5 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:19,100 in the workings of our democracy.

6 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:20,900 Of course, this isn't a surprise.

7 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:24,299 Every time a major issue arises, we've come to expect that an

8 00:00:24,300 --> 00:00:28,066 army of lobbyists will descend on Capitol Hill in the hopes of

9 00:00:28,066 --> 00:00:30,633 tilting the laws in their favor.

10 00:00:30,633 --> 00:00:32,632 That's one of the reasons I ran for President: because I

11 00:00:32,633 --> 00:00:35,567 believed so strongly that the voices of ordinary Americans

12 00:00:35,567 --> 00:00:40,066 were being drowned out by the clamor of a privileged few in Washington.

13 00:00:40,066 --> 00:00:42,166 And that's why, since the day I took office,

14 00:00:42,166 --> 00:00:46,199 my administration has been taking steps to reform the system.

15 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,433 Recently, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision that

16 00:00:49,433 --> 00:00:52,433 overturned decades of law and precedent --

17 00:00:52,433 --> 00:00:57,066 dealing a huge blow to our efforts to rein in this undue influence.

18 00:00:57,066 --> 00:01:00,166 In short, this decision gives corporations and other special

19 00:01:00,166 --> 00:01:03,900 interests the power to spend unlimited amounts of money --

20 00:01:03,900 --> 00:01:06,867 literally millions of dollars -- to affect elections throughout

21 00:01:06,867 --> 00:01:08,333 our country.

22 00:01:08,333 --> 00:01:10,533 This, in turn, will multiply their influence over

23 00:01:10,533 --> 00:01:13,066 decision-making in our government.

24 00:01:13,066 --> 00:01:15,734 In the starkest terms, members will know --

25 00:01:15,734 --> 00:01:18,600 when pressured by lobbyists -- that if they dare to oppose that

26 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,166 lobbyist's client, they could face an onslaught of negative

27 00:01:22,166 --> 00:01:25,333 advertisement in the run up to their next election.

28 00:01:25,333 --> 00:01:28,166 And corporations will be allowed to run these ads without ever

29 00:01:28,166 --> 00:01:31,600 having to tell voters exactly who is paying for them.

30 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,734 At a time when the American people are already being

31 00:01:33,734 --> 00:01:36,199 overpowered in Washington by these forces,

32 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,100 this will be a new and even more powerful weapon that the special

33 00:01:40,100 --> 00:01:41,833 interests will wield.

34 00:01:41,834 --> 00:01:45,433 In fact, it's exactly this kind of vast power that led a great

35 00:01:45,433 --> 00:01:48,066 Republican President -- Teddy Roosevelt --

36 00:01:48,066 --> 00:01:50,734 to tackle this issue a century ago.

37 00:01:50,734 --> 00:01:53,699 He warned of the dangers of limitless corporate spending in

38 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:55,200 our political system.

39 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,834 He actually called it "one of the principal sources of

40 00:01:57,834 --> 00:02:00,266 corruption in our political affairs."

41 00:02:00,266 --> 00:02:03,834 And he proposed strict limits on corporate influence in elections.

42 00:02:03,834 --> 00:02:07,033 "[E]very special interest is entitled to justice," he said.

43 00:02:07,033 --> 00:02:10,333 "[B]ut not one is entitled to a vote in Congress,

44 00:02:10,333 --> 00:02:15,934 to a voice on the bench, or to representation in any public office."

45 00:02:15,934 --> 00:02:17,966 In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling,

46 00:02:17,967 --> 00:02:20,033 we face a similar challenge.

47 00:02:20,033 --> 00:02:22,600 That's why it's so important that Congress consider new

48 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,033 reforms to prevent corporations and other special interests from

49 00:02:26,033 --> 00:02:28,733 gaining even more clout in Washington.

50 00:02:28,734 --> 00:02:31,600 And almost all of these reforms are designed to bring new

51 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,333 transparency to campaign spending.

52 00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:37,266 They're based on the principle espoused by former Supreme Court

53 00:02:37,266 --> 00:02:42,367 Justice Louis Brandeis -- that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

54 00:02:42,367 --> 00:02:45,233 Shadowy campaign committees would have to reveal who's

55 00:02:45,233 --> 00:02:48,600 funding their activities to the American people.

56 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,000 And when corporations and other special interests take to the

57 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,233 airwaves, whoever is running and funding the ad would have to

58 00:02:54,233 --> 00:02:58,300 appear in the advertisement and claim responsibility for it --

59 00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:02,200 like a company's CEO or an organization's biggest contributor.

60 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,867 This will mean citizens can evaluate the claims in these ads

61 00:03:05,867 --> 00:03:09,600 with information about an organization's real motives.

62 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,400 We know how important this is.

63 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,000 We've all seen groups with benign-seeming names sponsoring

64 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,834 television commercials that make accusations and assertions

65 00:03:17,834 --> 00:03:21,700 designed to influence the public debate and sway voters' minds.

66 00:03:21,700 --> 00:03:25,266 Now, of course every organization has every right in

67 00:03:25,266 --> 00:03:27,600 this country to make their voices heard.

68 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,299 But the American people also have the right to know when some

69 00:03:30,300 --> 00:03:33,533 group like "Citizens for a Better Future" is actually

70 00:03:33,533 --> 00:03:38,600 funded entirely by "Corporations for Weaker Oversight."

71 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,233 In addition, these reforms would address another troubling aspect

72 00:03:42,233 --> 00:03:44,233 of the Supreme Court's ruling.

73 00:03:44,233 --> 00:03:46,333 Under the bill Congress will consider,

74 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:48,767 we'll make sure that foreign corporations and foreign

75 00:03:48,767 --> 00:03:52,166 nationals are restricted from spending money to influence

76 00:03:52,166 --> 00:03:55,299 American elections, just as they were in the past --

77 00:03:55,300 --> 00:03:57,734 even through U.S. subsidiaries.

78 00:03:57,734 --> 00:04:01,300 And we'll keep large contractors that receive taxpayer funds from

79 00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:03,567 interfering in our elections as well,

80 00:04:03,567 --> 00:04:06,166 to avoid the appearance of corruption and the possible

81 00:04:06,166 --> 00:04:08,400 misuse of tax dollars.

82 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,834 Now, we can expect that these proposed changes will be met

83 00:04:11,834 --> 00:04:14,633 with heavy resistance from the special interests and their

84 00:04:14,633 --> 00:04:16,500 supporters in Congress.

85 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:20,500 But I'm calling on leaders in both parties to resist these pressures.

86 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:23,266 For what we are facing is no less than a potential corporate

87 00:04:23,266 --> 00:04:25,400 takeover of our elections.

88 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,866 And what is at stake is no less than the integrity of our democracy.

89 00:04:29,867 --> 00:04:32,800 This shouldn't be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue.

90 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,734 This is an issue that goes to whether or not we will have a

91 00:04:35,734 --> 00:04:38,667 government that works for ordinary Americans --

92 00:04:38,667 --> 00:04:42,066 a government of, by, and for the people.

93 00:04:42,066 --> 00:04:44,566 That's why these reforms are so important.

94 00:04:44,567 --> 00:04:48,200 And that's why I'm going to fight to see them passed into law.

95 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:49,433 Thanks so much.