[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 27 (Monday, July 7, 1997)]
[Pages 991-992]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 28, 1997

    Good morning. Today I'm speaking to you from the East Room of the 
White House, where I'm joined by hundreds of America's brightest high 
school students. These Presidential Scholars are here in our Nation's 
Capital to learn how democracy works, and we know we can make it work 
much, much better.
    I want to talk to you this morning about steps I'm taking to open 
the airwaves so voters have the loudest voice in our democracy, and 
about responsibility of Congress to clean up the campaign finance 
system.
    Our democracy is the oldest and most successful in the world, but we 
know that there is something wrong with the way we pay for elections. 
Our campaign finance laws were last rewritten 23 years ago. For quite a 
long while those laws worked well, but they have been overwhelmed by a 
flood of money and the changes in the way we communicate with one 
another and the cost of communication.
    Spending in congressional campaigns has risen sixfold in the last 
two decades. That's more than 3 times the rate of inflation. Now both 
political parties are locked into an ever-escalating arms race, as they 
compete to raise more and more money. There's simply too much money 
required for campaigns, it takes too much time to raise, and it raises 
too many questions.
    In my State of the Union Address, I challenged the Congress to act 
to stem the rising tide of campaign money by passing comprehensive, 
bipartisan campaign finance reform by July 4th, the date we celebrate 
the birth of our democracy. Unfortunately, Congress has made little 
progress toward reform since that time, and it's clear that the 
legislation will not pass, will not even be voted on by Independence 
Day. That's too bad because there has been a significant number of 
bipartisan support for the McCain-Feingold bill, which I have also 
endorsed.
    But now we shouldn't wait for Congress to act, and I'm not waiting. 
Within my power as President, I've acted to advance key elements of 
reform, and I'll continue to do so. First, I have petitioned the Federal 
Election Commission to ban so-called soft money contributions, the large 
contributions from corporations, labor unions, and individuals that both 
parties raise. Bipartisan lawmakers led by Representatives Chris Shays 
and Marty Meehan have asked for the same thing. I am pleased that the 
FEC will begin formal proceedings on our request next month.
    Second, our Justice Department will fight in the courts to uphold 
efforts to limit campaign spending. We know how a spending spiral can 
have dangerous consequences, but for two decades, court cases have made 
it very hard to enact tough limits. Right now, strong spending limits 
passed for elections in Cincinnati, and judicial elections across Ohio 
are being challenged. We believe spending limits are constitutional, and 
if we need to, we'll make that case to the highest court in the land.
    And we're acting to address the single greatest reason for out-of-
control costs, spending on television. In 1972, candidates spent $25 
million for political ads; in 1996, $400 million. We're the only major 
democracy in the world that does it this way, and it doesn't have to be 
this way. We can make our most powerfully effective medium a powerful 
force for expanding democracy. Free TV time can help free our democracy 
from the grip of big money.
    For years I have supported giving candidates free time, and in fact, 
Vice President Gore proposed legislation to do that a decade ago when he 
was in the United States Senate. Now we're working to make it happen. In 
March I called on the Federal Communications Commission to require 
broadcasters to give candidates free time as a condition of

[[Page 992]]

receiving a new, lucrative license for high-tech digital TV. That's the 
least we can ask of broadcasters, who are given access to the public 
airwaves, worth billions of dollars, at no cost, with only the 
requirement that they meet a basic public obligation. Today I'm 
appointing two distinguished Americans to lead a commission that will 
help the FCC decide precisely how free broadcast time can be given to 
candidates as part of the broadcasters' public interest obligations.
    Les Moonves is the president of CBS Entertainment and one of 
America's most prominent and creative broadcasters. And Dr. Norman 
Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is one 
of America's best known political scientists and a renowned expert on 
campaign finance reform. Their commission will explore the details of 
free time for candidates and other public interest obligations, such as 
children's broadcasting, which may need to be updated.
    All these steps are important, but still they're no substitute for 
legislation. Again I say, Congress must act to pass comprehensive 
bipartisan legislation. And as I said before, Senators John McCain and 
Russ Feingold, joined by Representatives Shays and Meehan, have strong 
legislation that would limit spending, end soft money, and give 
candidates free time or reduced-rate TV time. I'm pleased to report that 
Senators McCain and Feingold have announced they will bring their bill 
to a vote later this summer in the Senate. This will be our first chance 
to see who's for real on the issue of reform.
    Needed change has been filibustered to death in every Congress for a 
decade. In my first term, it was filibustered to death each and every 
year. Now the same people who filibustered reform before, whose 
obstruction gave us the present system, have vowed to do it again. Let's 
let the people be heard. Let's not let them get away with it. Every 
Senator must realize that a vote for a filibuster is a vote to continue 
undue special interests influence, soft money contributions, out-of-
control spending, and continued public skepticism about the way the 
political process works.
    When it comes to fixing our campaign finance system, let's make this 
summer a time not of talk but of action, not of recriminations but of 
results. We have a rare chance to restore the trust and earn the 
participation of the American people. The way we pay for elections is 
broken; it's time to fix it. I ask for your support. And thanks for 
listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 6:09 p.m. on June 27 in the East Room 
at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 28.