    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [July 22, 1995]
    [Pages 1131-1132]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    July 22, 1995

        Good morning. Over a month ago, Speaker Newt Gingrich and I met with
    a group of senior citizens in Claremont, New Hampshire. That sunlit
    event had a special spirit. We showed that the great debate now
    occurring in our country can and should be conducted with civility and a
    sense of common ground. Many Americans of both parties have told me
    since then that this is exactly the way they want their leaders to work
    together. And that's what I'm committed to doing.
        Perhaps the most visible example of that spirit of New Hampshire
    came when the Speaker and I shook hands on the question of political
    reform, something that has divided the two parties and the Congress and
    the country for too long. The first question we answered was from a
    retired steelworker named Frank McConnell. He said that politics had
    become polluted by special interests and that too often the voice of the
    people was shut out. He said that bickering between the parties had
    blocked reform for too long, and he proposed that we create a blue-
    ribbon, bipartisan commission to write reforms to curb the power of
    special interests. There, in front of the entire country, the Speaker
    and I agreed to create this commission.
        A bipartisan commission could cut the knot that is strangling
    change. This panel would follow the approach that has worked on other
    critical issues. It would be comprised of distinguished citizens and
    would recommend broad changes in the rules which cover lobbyists and in
    how we finance political campaigns. Most important of all, the Congress
    would have to vote within a strict deadline, up or down, on the package
    as a whole, no loopholes, no amendments.
        I'm happy to report that in addition to myself and Speaker Gingrich,
    this very idea has been strongly endorsed for some time by Senate
    majority leader Bob Dole, who just last February said again that this
    was the way we ought to approach this question.
        It's clearer than ever that we need political reform. The American
    people believe their political system is too influenced by narrow
    interests, that our Government serves the powerful but not hard-working
    families. Even before the '94 elections, the special interests prevented
    passage of both campaign finance reform and lobby reform legislation
    that I had strongly asked the Congress to pass. When a minority in the
    Senate killed lobbying reform in 1994, lobbyists were standing right
    outside the Senate chamber cheering.
        Since the New Congress came in, I'm sad to say, it's gotten worse,
    for even more power has been given to the lobbyists. Now this new
    majority lets lobbyists for polluters write legislation rolling back
    environmental and public health protections. They've brought them in to
    explain the legislation. They even gave them a room off the House floor
    to write the amendments and the statements the Members would have to
    give explaining the bills that the lobbyists had written for them.
        Since things have gotten in this state, it was a real moment of hope
    when the Speaker and I shook hands on reform in New Hampshire. Just 5
    days later, I sent Speaker Gingrich a letter laying out in detail my
    ideas for how to move forward. Now, 5 weeks later, I must say

    [[Page 1132]]

    I'm very disappointed by what has happened since or, more accurately,
    what hasn't happened. The Speaker announced that he would send me his
    proposal, but he never has.
        I think the people of this country want us to move forward with
    political reform. Speaker Gingrich and I shook hands on it. We have an
    obligation to get this done and not walk away. If we're going to restore
    a spirit of civility to American politics, a handshake has to mean in
    1995 what it meant when I was growing up: We have to be as good as our
    word.
        Today, to move this process forward, I'm announcing that two
    distinguished Americans have agreed to work with me to get the
    commission idea underway. They're the kind of people I will appoint as
    its members. John Gardner's name is synonymous with integrity. He's a
    Republican Cabinet Secretary to a Democratic President, the founder of
    the citizens' lobby Common Cause, a wise and effective man. Doris Kearns
    Goodwin is a political scientist and a Pulitzer Prize winning author.
    She understands through her knowledge of history and today's political
    situation how politics affects the lives of ordinary people.
        I have asked John Gardner and Doris Kearns Goodwin to meet with
    Speaker Gingrich as soon as possible and the other congressional
    leaders, to get them going on this idea so that we can make this
    commission a reality and keep our commitment to the Frank McConnells and
    all the other Americans who want us to improve the way our political
    system works.
        John Gardner and Doris Kearns Goodwin will help us to get this
    movement going. And now I call on Speaker Gingrich and the other
    congressional leaders to come forward and do their part. The Speaker and
    I made a deal, and it's time to keep it. There's no excuse for further
    delay.
        We already have signs of bipartisan agreement. On Monday, the Senate
    begins to debate on legislation to require lobbyists to disclose who
    they are, what they're paid, and what bills they're trying to influence.
    And the Senate will vote on legislation to ban lobbyists from providing
    lawmakers meals or gifts or travel. If a judge took a paid vacation from
    a lawyer in his courtroom, he'd be disbarred. But if a lobbyist pays for
    a trip to a sunny climate, right now it's perfectly legal. And it
    happens all the time.
        Congress should send me the strongest possible ban on lobbyist
    gifts, such as the bill introduced by Democratic Senators Carl Levin and
    Paul Wellstone and Republican Senator Bill Cohen. Congress should not
    send me a bill that's more loophole than law. I hope the action I'm
    taking today will help lead to real political reform. We have to do
    everything we can to show the American people that their Government
    works for them and not the special interests.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the
    White House.