Mike Bloomberg Delivers Remarks at CITIZEN by CNN

Please join me in welcoming the 108th New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Well, thank you. This is my second favorite network, you should know. I had to say that because I got to go back to work afterwards. I don't want to get worked over. Why are you on their network? Because I won't even go on ours. I've always said I would like to own the camera, not be in front of it. But in this case, I don't own it, but I'm happy to be in front of it. Thanks to Jeff and to CNN for organizing the Citizen Conference and for inviting me. Today you've heard from Democrats, Republicans and Independents. And now you're going to hear from someone who's actually been a Democrat, Republican and Independent. I know something about partisan politics, even though I've never been a partisan guy. But as Jeff said, I recently switched my registration from Independent to Democratic, because I really do believe our democracy is being threatened in ways that our country has not seen in a very long time. Key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has always come up and served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. And so I re-registered as a Democrat because I think it's up to the Democrats this time to provide the checks and balances that our nation so badly needs. But even as I support Democrats this fall, I will always believe what I've said many times. No party has a monopoly on good ideas. Both sides can learn from each other if we are willing to listen to one another and follow facts and data and respect science. Unfortunately, none of that is happening right now in Washington. And the party in power, the majority party, the Republican Party, has refused to accept responsibility. You know, one of my political heroes was always Harry Truman, who kept a sign on his desk that read, the buck stops here. In other words, even though he wasn't to blame for every problem, he took responsibility for every problem. And to me, that's what leadership is all about. And you certainly don't see that in Washington. We need more Harry Trumans, people who will take responsibility for the fact that we elected them to solve problems, not to point fingers to scapegoat outsiders, but we elected them to get things done. And in recent years, Republicans in Congress have ducked just about every major challenge that we face. Stagnating wages, the lack of good-paying jobs, failing schools, growing numbers of Americans without health insurance, out-of-control gun violence, climate change, a broken immigration system. The list goes on and on and on. Yes, they did pass a tax cut last year, but most of the money went to people like me who don't need it. Thank you for the tax cut, but I was just fine without it. But what I'm not fine with is, instead of the tax cut, I need and you need, we all need, infrastructure. And the money that they gave away in the tax cut to individuals was the money that we're going to spend on infrastructure. Now, all of those issues I just mentioned, we can agree on what the exact best policies should be, but it's up to the job of leaders to work across the aisle to find common ground, and that is just not happening right now. Instead, we have a president who acts like he is the leader of a party instead of the leader of a nation. So whoever you vote for this November, I believe that we have to send a message that we expect our leaders to unite us, not divide us, and that we're going to start holding them accountable for solving problems. But whatever happens on election day, here is the good news. Despite the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington, we are seeing some progress on important issues, thanks to cities, states, communities, and businesses. And a good example would be climate change. When the White House said we're going to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, hundreds of cities and towns, along with businesses and universities and state legislators, came together and they said, we're still in. California Governor Jerry Brown and I brought them all together under one banner, which we call America's Pledge. To put the size of this group in perspective, it represents more than half the total population of the United States. If we were a country, we would have the world's third largest economy. And we are determined to fulfill America's commitment under the Paris Agreement, no matter what happens in Washington. I believe we can do it. Just look at the data. Over the last 10 years, thanks to actions by cities, states, and businesses, we have cut carbon emissions more than any other nation. And despite all of the talk about the administration bringing back coal-fired power plants, those plants continue to close at about the same rate that they did under the Obama administration. The reason is simple. The American people want cheaper energy and clean air, and the marketplace is delivering. Let me give you a good example. Georgetown, Texas. It's a city in central Texas of about only 70,000 people, but it is the first city in America that is running on nearly 100% clean energy. And I should point out, in that city, the mayor is a Republican, which goes to show that clean energy can really be a bipartisan issue. Georgetown was the first city to go 100% clean energy, but it will not be the last. Dozens of other cities are now working to meet that goal, and they are taking many other actions that save people money, clean the air, and promote economic growth. They really all do go together. Now, that doesn't mean we should let Washington off the hook. No ways. But I think it does show how local and state governments are leading where Washington will not, and not just on climate change. Gun violence is another example. It seems like every day there's another mass shooting at a church, at a concert, at a school, at a mall. And what has Congress done? Nothing. It is an outrage, and we just can't let it stand. I was in Parkland, Florida two weeks ago, where 17 students and faculty were gunned down early this year. I spoke with parents and students who are turning their grief into action by getting involved in this year's elections. They're inspiring people all over the country to join them and to support two organizations that really are making a difference, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. Recently, I met with some of those moms in Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. They are taking on the NRA in their own communities, and they are winning. The NRA and their puppets in Congress ought to be worried. Very worried. Polls show that more than 90% of Americans support universal background checks for all gun sales. And right now, federal law only requires background checks for people who buy guns in stores. That makes it easy for criminals and other dangerous people to buy guns illegally at gun shows and over the internet, where background checks are not required. But that's why 11 states have already adopted or expanded background checks over the past five years. This year alone, 20 states have enacted stronger gun safety laws, and those states are saving lives. So we really are making progress. But wouldn't it be nice if Washington actually worked with us and not against us? Imagine how much progress we could make if Washington were on our side, not just on gun violence, but also on climate change and every other issue. We need our elected officials in Washington to stop playing politics and start leading. Now, I know this isn't a partisan event today, and I appreciate that, but it is a citizen's event. And one of the fundamental responsibilities of citizenship is voting. So let me close the event by urging everyone watching to exercise your civic duty and vote. If you don't like what's going on, here's your chance to do something about it. On November 6, we can tell Washington to start paying attention to what's happening in our towns and our cities and start working across the aisle to get things done. If we do that, if we send that message, we can begin moving past this nasty partisanship and division, and we can start becoming the United States of America once again. Thank you. November 6, vote.