The White House Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 19, 2012

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Congress Must Move Forward, Not Back On Wall Street Reform
WASHINGTON, DC In this weeks address, President Obama discussed Wall Street reform that he put in place to protect consumers, make Wall Street play by the same set of rules, and ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for the type of irresponsible behavior on Wall Street that nearly destroyed our financial system and cost the economy millions of jobs. While Republicans in Congress are still trying to delay and dismantle these critical Wall Street reforms, President Obama continues to urgeCongress to finish implementing these reformsso that we can prevent excessive risk-taking and help create an economy that is built to last. The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, May 19, 2012. Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address The White House May 19, 2012 For the past three and a half years, weve been fighting our way back from an historic economic crisis one caused by breathtaking irresponsibility on the part of some on Wall Street who treated our financial system like a casino. Not only did that behavior nearly destroy the financial system it cost our economy millions of jobs, hurt middle-class families, and left taxpayers holding the bag. Since then, weve recovered taxpayer dollars that were used to stabilize troubled banks. And weve put in place Wall Street reform with smarter, tougher, commonsense rules that serve one primary purpose: to prevent a crisis like that from ever happening again. And yet, for the past two years, too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists have actually been waging an all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle Wall Street reform. Recently, weve seen why we cant let that happen. We found out that a big mistake at one of our biggest banks resulted in a two billion dollar loss. While that bank can handle a loss of that size, other banks may not have been able to. And without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Streets mistakes.

Thats why its so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we cant afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy. We cant afford to go back to that brand of youre-on-your-own economics. Not after the American people have worked so hard to come back from this crisis. Weve got to keep moving forward. Weve got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place. These new rules say that, if yourea big bank or financial institution, you now have to hold more cash on hand so that if you make a bad decision you pay for it, not the taxpayers. You have to write out a living will that details how youll be wound down if you do fail. The new law takes away big bonuses and paydays from failed CEOs, while giving shareholders a say on executive salaries. And for the first time in our nations history, we have in place a consumer watchdog whose sole job is to look out for working families by protecting them from deceptive and unfair practices. So unless you run a financial institution whose business model is built on cheating consumers, or making risky bets that could damage the whole economy, you have nothing to fear from Wall Street reform. Yes, it discourages big banks and financial institutions from making risky bets with taxpayer-insured money. And it encourages them to do things that actually help the economy like extending loans toentrepreneurs with good ideas, to middle-class families who want to buy a home, to students who want to pursue higher education. Thats what Wall Street reform is all about making this economy stronger for you. And were going to keep working to recover every job lost to the recession; to build an economy where hard work and responsibility are once again rewarded; to restore an America where everyone has a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. I believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history; that businesses are the engine of growth; that risk-takers and innovators should be celebrated. But I also believe that at its best, the free market has never been a license to take whatever you want, however you can get it. Alongside our entrepreneurial spirit and rugged individualism, America only prospers when we meet our obligations to one another; and to future generations. If you agree with me, let your Member of Congress know. Tell them to spend less time working to undermine rules that are there to protect the economy, and spend more time actually working to strengthen the economy. Thanks and have a great weekend. ###

[PRESIDENTIAL WEEKLY ADDRESS ASSESSMENT PHASE A.a START OF]

the CORE MEANING: an adjective, the definite article, used before a noun denoting somebody or something that has already been mentioned or identified, or something that is understood by both the speaker and hearer, as distinct from "a" or "an" The movie ended with the hero riding off into the desert. The food was excellent but the service was poor.
]

The White House Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 19, 2012

1. adjective indicating one as distinct from another: used to refer to one in particular of a number of things or people, identified as distinct from all others by the use of a modifier Put them in the small bag. the door on the left the girl who answered the phone the right to vote the points made earlier 2. indicating generic class: used to refer to a person or thing considered generically or universally Exercise is good for the heart. [13th century. Via Old the violin. She played French relaisser "let go" < Latin relaxare relax)] "loosen" (see The dog is a loyal pet. 3. indicating shared experience: used to refer to objects and concepts associated with the shared experience of a culture, society, or community go to the hospital thinking about the future lying in the sun 4. all people of particular type: used before adjectives to refer generically to people of a particular type or class new measures to help the unemployed They say the good always die young. 5. titles and names: used before titles and some names such as place names the king of Spain the Times newspaper the president of the United States

[14th century. Via Old French adresser < assumed Vulgar Latin addrictiare "direct to" < Latin directus (see direct)] [14th century. < Latin directus, past participle of dirigere "set straight, guide"]

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Congress Must Move Forward, Not Back On Wall Street Reform
[14th century. Directly or "form"]

6. qualifying names and titles: used in names and titles before adjectives and nouns that distinguish somebody from others of the same name or title Ivan the Terrible via French < Latin reformare "form again" < forma Henry the Fifth

1forward \'fr-wrd, also + -weard -ward] (bef. 12c) 8. indicating most famous or important: the 1 a : near, being at, or belonging to the forepart b : situated in advance best, only, or most outstanding 2 a : strongly inclined : ready b: lacking place to be. reserve : brash It's the modesty or 3 : notably advanced or developed : precocious and ratios: used to indicate how many units apply to 9. expressing rates 4 : moving, tending, or leadingeach or every thing measured; also: moving toward an toward a position in front available at $60 the ton opponent's goal 10. indicating family relationship: considered progress b : 5 a : advocating an advanced policy in the direction of what isused instead of a possessive such as "your" or "my" to refer to somebody having a particular family relationship extreme radical
(informal) Give my regards to the family. How's the wife?

7. indicating parts of body: used instead of a possessive such as "my" or "your" to refer to a part of somebody's body 'f- patted him on the head or 'f-, Southern also 'fr-\ adj [ME, fr. OE foreweard, fr. fore took her by the hand

[14th century. Via French < Latin praesident- < present participle of praesidere (see preside)]

WASHINGTON, DC In this weeks address, President Obama discussed Wall Street reform that he put in place to protect consumers, make Wall Street play by the same set of rules, and ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for the type of irresponsible behavior on Wall Street that nearly destroyed our financial system and cost the economy millions of jobs.
destroy \di-'stri, d-\ vb [ME, fr. AF destroy-, destrui-, stem of destrure, fr. VL *destrugere, alter. of L destruere, fr. de- + struere to build more at structure] vt(13c) 1 : to ruin the structure, organic existence, or condition of ~ed the files ; also: to ruin as if by tearing to shreds their reputation was ~ed 2 a : to put out of existence : kill ~ an injured horse b : neutralize the moon ~s the light of the stars c : annihilate vanquish armies had been crippled but not ~ed W. L. Shirer 1republicandestruction vi: to cause \ri-'p-bli-kn\ n (1699) 1 : one that favors or supports a republican form of government 2 capa : a member of a political party advocating republicanism b : a member of the Democratic-Republican party or of the Republican party of the U.S.

While Republicans in Congress are still trying to delay and dismantle these critical Wall Street reforms, President Obama continues to urgeCongress to finish implementing these reforms so that we can prevent excessive risk-taking and help create an economy that is built to last.
[15th century. < Latin prevent-, past participle of praevenire "come before, prevent" < venire "come"]

1audio \'-d-"\ adj [audio-] (1916) 1 : of or relating to acoustic, mechanical, or electrical frequencies corresponding to normally audible sound waves which are of frequencies approximately from 15 to 20,000 hertz 2 a of or relating the address will be available online at The audio of the address: and video of to sound or its reproduction and esp. high-fidelity reproduction b : www.whitehouse.govrelating to or used in the transmission or reception of sound compare video c : of, at 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, May 19, 2012. online \'n-'ln, 'n-'ln\ adj (1950) : relating to, or utilizing recorded sound
connected to, served by, or available through a system and esp. a computer or telecommunications system (as the Internet) an ~ database ; also: done while connected to such a system ~ shopping online adv

Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address The White House May 19, 2012 For the past three and a half years, weve been fighting our way back from an historic economic crisis one caused by breathtaking irresponsibility on the part of some on Wall Street who treated our financial system like a casino. Not only did that behavior nearly destroy the financial system it cost our economy millions of jobs, hurt middle-class families, and left taxpayers holding the bag. Since then, weve recovered taxpayer dollars that were used to stabilize troubled banks. And weve put in place Wall Street reform with smarter, tougher, commonsense rules that serve one primary purpose: to prevent a crisis like that from ever happening again. And yet, for the past two years, too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists have actually been waging an all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle Wall Street reform. Recently, weve seen why we cant let that happen. We found out that a big mistake at one of our biggest banks resulted in a two billion dollar loss. While that bank can handle a loss of that size, other banks may not have been able to. And without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Streets mistakes. Thats why its so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we cant afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy. We cant afford to go back to that brand of youre-on-your-own economics. Not after the American people have worked so hard to come back from this crisis. Weve got to keep moving forward. Weve got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place. These new rules say that, if yourea big bank or financial institution, you now have to hold more cash on hand so that if you make a bad decision you pay for it, not the taxpayers. You have to write out a living will that details how youll be wound down if you do fail. The new law takes away big bonuses and paydays from failed CEOs, while giving shareholders a say on executive salaries. And for the first time in our nations history, we have in place a consumer watchdog whose sole job is to look out for working families by protecting them from deceptive and unfair practices. So unless you run a financial institution whose business model is built on cheating consumers, or making risky bets that could damage the whole economy, you have nothing to fear from Wall Street reform. Yes, it discourages big banks and financial institutions from making risky bets

with taxpayer-insured money. And it encourages them to do things that actually help the economy like extending loans toentrepreneurs with good ideas, to middle-class families who want to buy a home, to students who want to pursue higher education. Thats what Wall Street reform is all about making this economy stronger for you. And were going to keep working to recover every job lost to the recession; to build an economy where hard work and responsibility are once again rewarded; to restore an America where everyone has a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. I believe the free market is one of the greatest forces for progress in human history; that businesses are the engine of growth; that risk-takers and innovators should be celebrated. But I also believe that at its best, the free market has never been a license to take whatever you want, however you can get it. Alongside our entrepreneurial spirit and rugged individualism, America only prospers when we meet our obligations to one another; and to future generations. If you agree with me, let your Member of Congress know. Tell them to spend less time working to undermine rules that are there to protect the economy, and spend more time actually working to strengthen the economy. Thanks and have a great weekend. ###
[PRESIDENTIAL WEEKLY ADDRESS ASSESSMENT PHASE A.a END OF]