Barack Obama

As Prepared for Delivery –

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought – and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
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President Obama is in New York City tonight for some campaign fundraisers and the Working Families Party are seizing on the opportunity to pressure the president into investigating Wall Street banks for fraud.

Executive Director Dan Cantor just sent out an email entitled “Deal or no deal, President Obama?”, where he criticizes the White House for trying to “let the banks off easy” by allowing them to pay a fine in exchange for immunity.

Here’s the letter:

friend –

President Obama has a choice to make.

Help him make the right one: tell him to investigate Wall Street.

This evening, President Obama is appearing in Harlem — just miles uptown from the Wall Street banks that brought down the American economy.

Three years after the collapse, there still hasn’t been an investigation into the meltdown. Some officials in the Obama Administration are pushing a deal to let the banks off easy: a paltry fine, in exchange for broad immunity from any further investigation. The deal could be done within a week.

But together, we can stop it.

We’re delivering our petition to Obama in person this evening, along with hundreds of allies, tens of thousands of petition signatures, and one message: don’t back the settlement. Americans deserve a full investigation into Wall Street’s fraud and abuse — we can’t let them off with just a slap on the wrist.

This is good news for NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has led the charge against a settlement with banks along with Attorneys General in several other states like California and Delaware. Just yesterday it was reported that a deal is close between the banks and several states, but it may hinge on the participation of California, where the bulk of mortgage foreclosures took place.