State of the Union Addresses of Barack Obama, 2009-2016Obama, Barack
General
State of the Union Addresses of Barack Obama, 2009-2016
Obama, Barack
Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
Now, that's what I came to Washington to do. That's why, for the first
time in history, my administration posts on--our White House visitors
online. That's why we've excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or
seats on Federal boards and commissions. But we can't stop there. It's
time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf
of a client, with my administration or with Congress. It's time to put
strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates
for Federal office.
With all due deference to separation of powers, last week, the Supreme
Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates
for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without
limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be
bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign
entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge
Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of
these problems.
I'm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark
reform, Democrats and Republicans--Democrats and Republicans. Look,
you've trimmed some of this spending, you've embraced some meaningful
change, but restoring the public trust demands more. For example, some
Members of Congress post some earmark requests online. Tonight I'm
calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single web
site before there's a vote so that the American people can see how
their money is being spent.
Of course, none of these reforms will even happen if we don't also
reform how we work with one another. Now, I'm not naive. I never
thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and
harmony and--[Laughter]--some postpartisan era. I knew that both
parties have fed divisions that are deeply entrenched. And on some
issues, there are simply philosophical differences that will always
cause us to part ways. These disagreements, about the role of
government in our lives, about our national priorities and our national
security, they've been taking place for over 200 years. They're the
very essence of our democracy.
But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day
is election day. We can't wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal
is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about the other
side, a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or
obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of--
I'm speaking to both parties now--the confirmation of well-qualified
public servants shouldn't be held hostage to the pet projects or
grudges of a few individual Senators.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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