Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 / June 4 bor announced the winners of a national com- We’ve got a long way to go, but we can make petition for equal pay apps that give women in- this happen, and together, we can keep moving teractive tools and key information to help forward. So let’s make sure hard work pays off, them determine if they’re getting paid fairly. responsibility is rewarded. So we’re going to be releasing this after- I appreciate everything you guys do. And noon a formal administration policy message I’m going to turn over the call to Cecilia Mu- supporting the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” and noz, who is going to describe the “Paycheck we’re going to call on Congress to do the right Fairness Act” in more detail. All right? Thanks, everybody. Bye-bye. thing. But let’s face it. Congress is not going to act because I said it’s important; they’re go- NOTE: The President spoke at 12:15 p.m. in ing to act because you guys are making your the Oval Office at the White House. In his re- voices heard. So Senators have to know you’re marks, he referred to Senior Adviser to the holding them accountable. Everything that President Valerie B. Jarrett, in her capacity as they’re going to be hearing over the next 24 Chair of the White House Council on Women hours can make a difference in terms of how and Girls; and Cecilia Munoz, Director, Do- they vote. mestic Policy Council. Remarks at an Obama Victory Fund 2012 Fundraiser in New York City June 4, 2012 Thank you, everybody. No need to—thank just extraordinary talent all across the country. you so much. Thank you. Please, please. In little places in Arkansas and little apartment Well, first of all, to the Lasry family, to Marc buildings in Hawaii and—[laughter]—there and Cathy, all the kids—particularly Alex, who are folks out there who are eager to live out had been working with Valerie Jarrett for a that American Dream and create new busi- while and now is off to business school—I just nesses and new opportunities. And just about want to thank them for their extraordinary everybody here, somewhere in their lives friendship. They have been great supporters they’ve known that when we work together we and great friends for a really, really long time. can’t be stopped. And that’s what’s at stake in And so to open up their beautiful home to us this election, as Bill said. and offer such great hospitality, I can’t be more I want to spend most of my time answering grateful. questions, but part of what I’m going to be do- To President Bill Clinton—as usual, he pret- ing over the next several weeks is just clarifying ty much summed it up. [Laughter] So I don’t for people the choice involved, because we have to add too much—don’t want to guild the have a fundamental choice. And the truth is it’s lily here. an argument that dates back to Bill Clinton’s Nobody has a better grasp and understand- Presidency. As you will recall, you didn’t get a ing of the issues than this man. He spent 8 lot of cooperation out of those Republicans in years guiding this country through, initially, Congress either. [Laughter] some difficult times and then ushered in one of And the basic issue is: After World War II, the greatest booms that we’ve seen, a recipe of we arrived at a basic consensus in this country; stable, steady growth in which everybody par- it was a rough consensus between Republicans ticipated, growth that started from the bottom and Democrats, and there was a spectrum up and from the middle class out. there, but everybody understood that the mar- And everybody did well, including those at ket was the best generator of wealth and op- the top, because—in part, because of Presi- portunity that we had ever seen. It was under- dent Clinton’s background. He understood stood that America’s business was business, what it takes to grow this economy, that there’s that Government is not the ultimate source of 723 June 4 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 our wealth and our freedom. But what we also And we understood not every Government understood was that there were certain invest- program is going to work, and we understood ments we had to make to create a platform for that not every regulation should be command- opportunity for everybody. and-control, top down; that a lot of times the And so among Democrats and Republicans market might provide—if we provide the prop- there was a belief in a basic social safety net. er incentives, the market might come up with And there was a belief that regulations better solutions for how we were going to solve wouldn’t inhibit, necessarily, economic growth, some of these vexing problems. they could actually advance them. Because the But over the last 15 years, the last 20 years, reason we had the best capital markets in the that consensus has broken down. If you look at world was people trusted our capital markets, what the Republican Party today represents— and they believed in disclosure, and they be- we haven’t moved that much. If you’ve com- lieved in transparency and openness and ac- pared—there’s a reason why Jack Lew was the countability. And so small investors and large OMB Director under Bill Clinton and he was investors said, you know what, let’s put our my OMB Director and now my Chief of Staff. money in America. Jack hasn’t changed that much. [Laughter] And people from Richard Nixon to George He’s gotten a little grayer. [Laughter] Our ba- H.W. Bush understood that if we have smart sic policies haven’t shifted. We’ve responded to environmental regulations, that can actually new information and new circumstances. create opportunity. And if we have good con- What’s changed is the Republican Party. sumer regulations, that actually helps Ameri- They have gone from a preference for market- ca’s brand because people can trust our prod- based solutions to an absolutism when it comes ucts and trust our services. to the marketplace, a belief that all regulations are bad; that Government has no role to play; And there was an understanding we’re going that we shouldn’t simply be making sure that to make an investment in education, whether we balance the budget, we have to drastically the GI bill or opening up more and more op- shrink Government and eliminate those com- portunity for a college education and making mitments that have ensured a middle class had sure that we’re investing in our—the crown a chance to succeed and to thrive for several jewel of America’s economy, our colleges and generation. our universities, because we understood that And so if you look at Paul Ryan’s budget or that’s where innovation comes from and ulti- you look at Governor Romney’s proposals, mately that’s going to create opportunity. what they’re talking about is something that is And we understood whether we were going fundamentally different from our experience to make investments in the Interstate Highway in growing this economy and creating jobs. System or in DARPA that ultimately that And so that’s going to be the central issue in would inure to the benefit of the marketplace. this campaign. And we’re going to do every- And we understood that we had to pay for it. thing we can to clarify that choice. The notion was this stuff wasn’t going to be The good news is, the American people, I free. It used to be the argument between think, agree with us. The challenge is that Democrats and Republicans was, what’s the things have been very tough for people for the best way to pay for it? But we understood that last 3, 4, 5, 10 years. And when things are ultimately these were investments worth mak- tough, you’re willing to try just about anything ing. And there were times where Democrats even if you’ve seen it before. And so what we got a little excessive. We had a little too much have to do is to make sure that we’re constantly faith in Government, a little too much faith in getting a clear message out about how we in- regulation, and there was a corrective mecha- tend to grow the middle class, how we’re going nism. And Bill Clinton helped to correct some to create jobs, and how our positions are of our excesses. squarely in the center of America’s traditions. 724 Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 / June 4 We’re not the ones who changed. And the trail hard. And luckily, I’ll have some pretty track record that Bill Clinton mentioned is one good companions along the way. that I’m extraordinarily proud of. But as impor- Thank you. tant as the work that we’ve done over the last 3½ years has been, this is actually an election that’s NOTE: The President spoke at 5:24 p.m. at the going to set the stage for what we do over the residence of Marc and Cathy Lasry. In his re- next 20 or the next 30. And I want the Ameri- marks, he referred to Alexander Lasry, son of can people to understand that.