During his presidential campaign, Roosevelt claimed that private utilities had "selfish purposes" and said, "Never shall the federal government part with its sovereignty or with its control of its power resources while I'm president of the United States."
Under valgkampen til præsidentvalget i 1932 hævdede Roosevelt, at private offentlige værker havde "selviske formål" og sagde: "Den føderale regering vil aldrig skille sig af med sin suverænitet eller med sin kontrol over kraftressourcerne, mens jeg er præsident for De Forenede Stater".