UPDATE (11/30): A full outline of Clinton’s infrastructure plan is now available on The Briefing.
At a rally held today in Boston’s Faneuil Hall, Hillary Clinton returned to campaign trail by beginning to outline her plan to improve the country’s infrastructure. Her proposal calls for a $275 million boost in in federal spending over a period of five years. She is also calling for the creation of a national infrastructure bank. Clinton also called for $225 billion in direct loans and other forms of credit. The funding would come from a mixture of public and private money, including the expansion of the Build American Bonds program. She said, “Investing in infrastructure makes our economy more productive and competitive across the board. To build a strong economy for our future, we must start by building strong infrastructure today.”
Clinton was joined at the event by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who endorsed her campaign. Clinton and Walsh were joined by members of a number of labor unions who have pledged to support campaign. In addition to outlining her infrastructure plan, she outlined the other aspects of her platform. Over the next several weeks, Clinton will continue to unveil her broad economic and jobs plans. The infrastructure proposals are just the beginning. A video of today’s speech will be posted when/if available.
Later today, Clinton will speak at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
MANCHESTER, NH – SEPTEMBER 19: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton raises her arms stands on stage during the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention at the Verizon Wireless Center on September 19, 2015 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
On Thursday, Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled her plan to regulate Wall Street and protect Americans. In an op-ed on Bloomberg she explained her plan and her reasoning for a number of its points. She then released details of the plan on The Briefing. The plan is very detailed and it would be impossible to insert the entire plan into this post. We have summarized the main points below:
Defend and preserve Dodd-Frank
Veto any legislation that attempts to weaken the law
Fight Republican attempts to repeal it
Reduce dangerous risks in the financial system
Impose a “risk fee” on the liabilities with of banks with more than $50 billion in assets
Reorganize, downsize, or break apart firms that are too large and too risky
Increase oversight of the “shadow banking” system to reduce risk
Introduce high-frequency trading tax for the stock markets
Impose compensation rules on senior management of banking institutions that suffer losses that threaten its financial health
Strengthen the Vlocker Rule (which prohibits banks from making risky or speculative trading bets with taxpayer-backed money)
Increase transparency in the banking system
Introduce international cooperation to curb excessive risk-taking
Increase the financial system’s security against cyber attacks
Hold individuals and corporations responsible when they break the law or put the system at risk
Ensure individual accountability when prosecuting wrongdoing
Ensure that fines affect the bonuses of executives, supervisors, and employees with misconduct takes place on their watch
Prohibit individuals in financial services from working in the industry after being convicted of egregious crimes
Extend the statute of limitations for financial fraud
Strongly prosecute insider traders
Create guidelines for that ensure transparency and accountability
Require that corporations admit to wrongdoing as a condition of settlement agreements
Increase transparency of corporate settlements
Restrict SEC waivers for repeat offenders
Give prosecutors the resources to punish law-breakers
Strengthen the SEC and CFTC
Increase maximum penalties for SEC and CFTC actions
Reward whistleblowers for bringing illegal activities to attention of authorities
Ensure that the financial systems serves investors and consumers, not just itself
Make sure that Wall Street helps Main Street grow and prosper
Protect all Americans from unfair and deceptive practices that put their earned income at risk
Clinton’s plan protects hard working Americans while ensuring that those who threaten the economy and financial system as a whole are held accountable. You can read the plan in full on The Briefing and read her op-ed on Bloomberg. She summed up her plan saying, “The bottom line is that we can never allow what happened in 2008 to happen again. Just as important, we have to encourage Wall Street to live up to its proper role in our economy — helping Main Street grow and prosper. With strong rules of the road and smart incentives, the financial industry can help more young families buy that first home, make it possible for entrepreneurs to create new small businesses and support hardworking Americans saving for retirement. My plan will help us unlock that potential. We’ll create good-paying jobs, raise incomes and help families afford a middle-class life, with less speculation and more growth — growth that’s strong, fair and long-term. That’s what I’m fighting for in my campaign, and that’s what I’ll do as president.”
Tonight, Clinton will present an award during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala, and she will attend a private fundraiser in Washington, DC. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
On Wednesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that she is against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Clinton was asked about the agreement at an event today in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, but she also discussed the TPP on PBS’s NewsHour during an interview with Judy Woodruff. Her opposition of the deal is in direct conflict with President Barack Obama and his administration, but the deal does face a tough battle in Congress. In addition to speaking about the TPP during the interview, Clinton also released a statement explaining in more detail why she is opposed to the deal. A copy of the statement is below. A video from Clinton’s full interview on PBS NewsHour is above.
Hillary Clinton Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership
I’m continuing to learn about the details of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, including looking hard at what’s in there to crack down on currency manipulation, which kills American jobs, and to make sure we’re not putting the interests of drug companies ahead of patients and consumers. But based on what I know so far, I can’t support this agreement.
As I have said many times, we need to be sure that new trade deals meet clear tests: They have to create good American jobs, raise wages, and advance our national security. The bar has to be set very high for two reasons.
First, too often over the years we haven’t gotten the balance right on trade. We’ve seen that even a strong deal can fall short on delivering the promised benefits. So I don’t believe we can afford to keep giving new agreements the benefit of the doubt. The risks are too high that, despite our best efforts, they will end up doing more harm than good for hard-working American families whose paychecks have barely budged in years.
Second, we can’t look at this in a vacuum. Years of Republican obstruction at home have weakened U.S. competitiveness and made it harder for Americans who lose jobs and pay because of trade to get back on their feet. Republicans have blocked the investments that we need and that President Obama has proposed in infrastructure, education, clean energy, and innovation. They’ve refused to raise the minimum wage or defend workers’ rights or adequately fund job training.
As a result, America is less competitive than we should be. Workers have fewer protections, the potential positive effects of trade are diminished, and the negative effects are exacerbated. We’re going into this with one arm tied behind our backs.
I still believe in the goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific as part of a broader strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was Secretary of State. I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made. But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe this agreement has met it.
6/13 UPDATE: A full transcript of the speech is available from Time by CLICKING HERE.
In her first official campaign rally held at Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined what she called the “four fights” of her campaign. Throughout the 45 minute speech, Clinton made references to her experience as a lawyer, Senator, Secretary of State, and as a mother and grandmother. The theme of the speech was the prosperity of Americans, and she shared stories from people she has met and her mother to make her points. In her speech, Clinton also criticized Republicans for not looking forward and believing too much in “yesterday.” She vowed to fight for everyday Americans and prepare the United States for the future.
The key to her speech was the “four fights.” She outlined what those will be, but said that said will outline specific policy changes in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, her vision is clearly outlined by the four fights:
Economy: Clinton outlined a number of changes that would serve to strengthen the economy including strengthening the middle class, increasing the minimum wage, providing equal pay for women, making it illegal to discriminate against LBGT workers, rewriting the tax code, and focusing on lifelong learning that will allow works to adapt to a changing workplace. She also called for more affordable college for everyone and improving the infrastructure by creating an infrastructure bank that would sell bonds to help fund improvements roads, bridges, power grids, and broadband Internet. She called for protecting the environment by investing in clean energy and ending the denial of climate change. All these changes, which she will continue to outline in the coming weeks, will create jobs and improve the lives of American workers.
Family: Families have struggled since the recession and Clinton believes that more attention needs to be paid to helping families by guaranteeing paid sick days, paid family leave, pre-school and child care. She also wants to focus on the uneven incarceration polices and provide help to those suffering with mental health issues and addiction.
America’s Leadership: America has long been the leader in the world, but for America to maintain its leadership and influence, Clinton argues that we have not only show strength in our military, but we have to create economic and diplomatic partnerships across the globe. At the same time, we have to stand up to our adversaries and stand by our allies. We need to be better prepared against cyber attacks and provide better services to our veterans after they have served our country.
Governmental Reform: Clinton argued that now is the time to take government out of corporate hands and back into the hands of Americans. She called for stopping the flow of unaccountable campaign funds, undoing Citizens United, and improving government technology so it is more open to the pubic. She also called for improvements to voting including universal registration, longer early voting periods, and ensuring that voting rights are protected despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
Clinton’s speech is only the beginning of the next phase of her campaign. Over the coming weeks, Clinton will travel across the country to spread her message and continue to flesh out her campaign platform. We will follow along and continue to cover her campaign events as she continues to build a strong platform for America’s future.
Join Hillary for America by donating, or you can text JOIN to 47246. As always, you can also follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and her all new Instagram page.
Hillary Rodham Clinton took to Twitter today to voice her concerns about the Republican budget introduced in the House of Representatives which cut funds for the Affordable Care Act and Pell Grants. Yesterday, she blasted Senate Republicans for failing to pass the Human Trafficking bill and holding up the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General. The Tweets came a week after she publicly criticized 47 Republican lawmakers for sending a letter to Iran in attempts to block any possible nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.
As she is expected to announce her 2016 presidential in a few weeks, Clinton is becoming more and more political in her statements and on Twitter. Her Tweets from yesterday and today are below:
Congressional trifecta against women today: 1) Blocking great nominee, 1st African American woman AG, for longer than any AG in 30 years…
Hillary Clinton Speeches 