Speech Text: A Washington that Works for All of Us

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Speech Text: A Washington that Works for All of Us
Remarks of Senator John Edwards
December 3, 2003
As Prepared for Delivery

It is an honor to be here tonight, and I want to thank Iowa State University for this opportunity to speak with you. I can think of no better place than to talk about what we have to do to clean up Washington for good. This is a place where young people imagine the impossible, dream of something better, and strive to make it real. And that's what we must do together, not just here in Ames, but by bringing people together across America to say once and for all: It is time to clean house in the halls of government. It is time to change Washington for good so we can change America for the better.

For decades, the special interests have been at work to make sure that their voices drown out yours. The lobbyists and insiders have built a brick wall around Washington that keeps them in power and you outside. It stands between you and the power to make your own medical decisions; you and cleaner air and cleaner water; you and more jobs; you and stronger security at chemical and nuclear plants; you and more money for college. And the only way to knock down this wall is to put an end to the nasty business of influence peddling that is business as usual in Washington today.

The genius of our democracy-the principle that has, for two centuries, made America the envy of the world - is the fundamental ideal that all power rests with the people. Today, that sacred ideal is under assault by the special interests and their armies of lobbyists. In the past, we could count on our presidents to act as a check on their power and as guardians of our broader, national interests. But unfortunately, that is not the case today.

In this president, they've found an unwavering ally. Instead of government "of, by and for the people," we have "government of the special interests, by the special interests and for the special interests."

There's an auction going on in Washington today. They are selling our country off piece-by-piece, and selling the American people out in the process. If we don't stop them now...if we give this crowd four more years of unchecked power-they will change America forever. Our challenge today is to rescue our democracy from this handful of insiders and give it back to the American people-make sure their interests come first again!

Some people seem to think the answer to this country's problems is to tell you everything they're against. Well, let me tell you: Washington is full of people who know what they're against. What this country needs is leaders who know what they're for. People out here who are working harder and making less don't need more anger; they need answers. They deserve a government that offers real solutions to their problems and works for them.

Last week, we saw Washington at its worst, and I am sad to say, we saw what Washington has become. After months of special treatment and secret meetings, energy interests and Republican leaders stuffed an energy bill with so many favors that several rank-and-file Republicans crossed the aisle to oppose it with us. Even though Americans know we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and we need more renewable energy to get there, Washington does nothing about it.

For years, elderly Americans have been pleading with their government to do something about the cost of prescription drugs. So what happens? Washington figures out how to charge you $400 billion for a bill that doesn't do a thing to control costs, because the same drug companies who caused the problem in the first place didn't want to solve it.

And then we read in the Washington Post that dozens of executives and lobbyists for the companies that would benefit the most from these two bills have each raised at least a hundred thousand dollars for the president's campaign. It is a massive sellout. It is outrageous. And, unfortunately, it is no surprise. It's what we've been left to expect from Washington in general, and this president above all.

This is no way to run a country. When I am your president, we'll end the days of lobbyists handing out $2,000 checks with one hand and writing the legislation with the other. It is our government and it should work for all of us, not just a privileged few.

It is time for us to take down the "for sale" sign at the White House and in front of the Republican Leadership's office and put back that sign that reads, "for the people." That's how we get our economy to create jobs. That's how we create a prescription drug benefit that brings down costs and covers every senior. That's how we create an energy policy that inspires a generation.

We need to change Washington because our long-term economic growth and help for the middle class depends on it. Every time this president and his team in Congress grow the deficit, guess who's going to be left with the task of paying down that debt? You. And when that deficit starts to drive up interest rates, guess who feels the impact the most? The working middle class.

Out here, ordinary people are working hard every day to make ends meet and do right by their families. The middle class is struggling to get by, and just asking for a government that will give them a chance to get ahead instead of adding to their burdens.

Fighting for middle class families and against special interests has been the work of my life. For more than 20 years, I fought with families and children against these interests and their armies of lawyers-and won most of those battles. In Congress, I have fought this fight time and again, and I know what we are up against.

I wrote the Patients' Bill of Rights, so that doctors rather than HMOs are in charge of your health. It passed the Senate, but George Bush blocked it. As president, I will make it the law of the land.

I wrote a law to get rid of the special loophole that allows big corporations to get massive tax deductions when they buy life insurance on their rank-and file workers-even if the workers never see a dime. The insurance companies opposed it. As president, I will close this loophole once and for all.

I led the fight to stop the biggest rollback of clean air laws in history, a rollback that sacrifices the health of our children and seniors for the profits of utilities and oil companies. Dick Cheney's task force planned that rollback, but the oil companies fought to keep it. As president, I will make sure that our clean air comes first and oil company profits come last.

I took on these people in court, and won. I am ready to win these battles as your president. The first thing we do when we move into a new house is we "clean house." And this is what I will do that first day as your president.

First, as I have said before, it is time to ban politicians from taking federal lobbyists' money. Some of George Bush's top contributors, his "Pioneers" and "Rangers," are lobbyists for the HMOs. And those HMOs get billions of dollars from George Bush's Medicare bill. It is not complicated, and it is wrong. I have never taken a dime from PACs or Washington lobbyists and I still beat a protege of Jesse Helms! Men and women who run for Congress or the Senate and even president can create a winning campaign without those tainted dollars.

Second, we need to stop the revolving door. In the Bush administration, the White House is just a way station for people coming or going from lobbying jobs. We should stop all top government officials from cashing in by becoming top lobbyists, as John Kerry has suggested. But we should go further. Today, the #2 education official lobbied for bankers in the student loan business, the #2 EPA official lobbied for chemical companies, and the president's Chief of Staff lobbied for the auto industry.

Today, we learned that Thomas Scully, the man who runs Medicare, is negotiating with top lobbying firms whose clients will benefit the most from the new Medicare bill. He was in negotiations while he was writing that bill. He was a lobbyist before he took his current job, and now he may become a lobbyist after he leaves his job. This looks improper because it is improper. I am calling on him not to use his public service for personal gain. I ask that he voluntarily stop negotiations with these firms and that he not become a lobbyist when he leaves his current job.

This is an all too familiar example as to why we need to stop this revolving door. We should stop lobbyists from taking a top administration job in the subject, which they lobbied, for at least one year. And we should stop top officials from leaving the administration to become lobbyists for at least five years.

Third, I will use the power of the Internet to shine a bright light on Washington secret deals. Today, lobbyists only have to say every six months who they're working for. We'll require them to do it every two weeks-disclose who they met with, what they want and for whom, and how much they've paid to try and get it.

Fourth, I will turn off the spigot of special interest spending that all those lobbyists are buying in Washington. It is no longer pork barrel spending; it's out of control spending. In the energy bill, there was $1 billion to build a power plant in Idaho. And in the Medicare bill $12 billion in "stabilization funds" for HMOs. Those provisions were just fine with the Republicans, but steps to develop alternative fuels or lower the cost of prescription drugs, were defeated on the spot.

In one bill I worked on with Senator Harkin, all we were asking for was some truth in drug advertising. If you advertise that medicine on TV, you have to mention the adverse side effects as well. You've all seen the ad. You take their pill, and later that night you'll be skipping through the field with your spouse. You know how many votes we got? Less than 40-that's how much of an influence drug companies have and their influence is mortgaging our future.

When I am president, we will get our fiscal house in order. We will pass a law that gives the president the power to force Congress to defend-on an up-or-down vote-every embarrassing piece of pork barrel spending or special interests tax breaks. I will restore "pay-as-you-go" rules and spending caps so that Congress pays for new spending and entitlement programs. And I will stop the special interests from sneaking items into bills nobody has time to read by making all bills available for at least 7 days before the votes.

Fifth, I will stop top officials from profiting while the government is in the red. Those men and women who enter public service have a moral obligation to the American people. I will stop pay raises for Congress and the president until the deficit has been cut in half or eliminated, and I will ban bonuses to political appointees and make sure those nearly $1.4 million handed out last year go to better use like fixing our schools.

And finally, we need to end the sweetheart deals for Halliburton and stop the war profiteering in Iraq. While no one doubts that America has a moral responsibility to help rebuild Iraq, there is something uneasy about the vice president's former employer, Halliburton, getting a no-bid $6 billion contract to import gasoline into Iraq.

It is shocking to learn about Joe Allbaugh's new consulting group for Iraq contracts, and it is deeply troubling that profits are being made as our men and women continue to die. While the president may have declared that major military operations have ceased, the war goes on for our brave men and women in uniform. During World War I and II and the Korean War, Congress passed "excess profits taxes." If they were important to Wilson, FDR, and Truman, then they should be important to us.

When I am president, I will direct my Secretary of Defense to review the Iraq reconstruction contracts for any mismanagement or excessive profits. This will be based on the Truman Commission during World War II and we will take back every illegitimate cent. But I will go further. I will forbid excess profits in new Iraq contracts. As President Franklin Roosevelt explained, in time of war, "the few [should] not gain from the sacrifices of the many."

And in Gold Star Hall, you are reminded of those very sacrifices made by your alumni. For 75 years, The Memorial Union has served as a place to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Their names are engraved on the wall and their courage and honor reside in us all. For the defense of democracy at the four corners of the globe is noble, pure and simple.

We do everything in our power to make sure that they do not have to enter dangerous times. But if they must, then we must applaud them, help them complete their mission, and bring them home. Our respect for our men and women serving in Iraq is what should grow every day, and not the profits of Halliburton!

I know that you share my frustration that for too long "the few have gained" in this administration. Not only do we need to fight to preserve democracy abroad in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, but we need to fight to preserve it right here at home!

If we're going to change America, we have to change the culture of Washington-and the tone. In the end, this election isn't about money or tactics or being willing to say whatever it takes to win. That's politics on George Bush's terms. I believe that politics should serve a higher purpose. It's not about us, and whether we win. It's about whether the American people win. If we want the American people to win, this election has to be a contest of ideas, not interests.

The special interests and the lobbyists have conducted their business at the expense of the people's, and it is time for all of us to fight back. And I have spent my whole life getting ready for this fight. I haven't spent most of my life in politics, and most Americans think that's a good thing. But I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it.

Each measure I talked about will make a difference for you and your family. When we tear down the special interests' wall around Washington, we can make health care a birthright for every child. We can make college affordable for everyone. We can give our working middle class the opportunity to save again to buy a house and save for retirement. We can create jobs here in America and end those arcane loopholes that send them overseas. And we can use this historic moment to create a democracy in the Middle East that earns the respect of the world.

These changes can create a good and lasting sea change here in America. This election is about more than the ending of the Bush presidency; it's about a new beginning for America. We can rebuild our government in a way that ends the era of special interests so that it is once again a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

The last time Washington implemented this kind of sweeping reform was at the end of the Gilded Age. Teddy Roosevelt entered the presidency under the worst circumstances, but he implemented some of the best reforms our government has ever seen. It launched a Progressive Era that broke up the powerful robber barons of the Gilded Age and gave the power back to the American people. It launched a conservation effort that saved countless national treasures. We saw child labor outlawed and women granted the right to vote.

And the time has come for a new era of reforms-one that is built on our optimism and our ideas. That's the America we believe in-a place where the family you're born into or the color of your skin should never control your destiny. That's the America I will fight for as your president because I still believe in an America where the son of a mill worker can beat the son of a president-and all his special interest friends-and win the White House in 2004!