Busch Valentine Pushes Ethics Reforms for Congress

 

by Pa Rock

Missouri Voter

Trudy Busch Valentine, the Democratic nominee for the open United States Senate seat in Missouri, took a bold step yesterday in her first campaign for public office by releasing a plan for ethics reform in Congress.  The candidate, who is a mother, grandmother, and registered nurse, is running on a pledge to represent the people of her state ahead of the corporations which seem to be constantly clamoring for the attention of Congress - and she is calling her campaign "Nobody's Senator but Yours."  That philosophy of representing the people first is reflected throughout her proposed ethics policy.

Busch Valentine divides her congressional ethics reform into two groupings:  "Getting Corporate Money Out of Politics," and "Promoting Good Government."  She lists four objectives for each group.   The plan follows:

"Nobody's Senator But Yours"  Ethics Policy

(Getting Corporate Money Out of Politics):

1.  A Lifetime Ban on Members of Congress Lobbying.   (Today Senators and Representatives routinely step into roles as paid lobbyists when they leave Congress.  Many see those good jobs as being delayed benefits for support and favors that they provided to corporations while they were in Congress.)

2.  Work to Ban All Corporate PACs.  (Political Action Committees - PACs - are organizations set up by corporations, industries, and specific interest groups to collect and disperse money to candidates who support their businesses or causes.  PACs can be used as ways to get around legal limits on campaign donations, and they have become the major drivers of political campaigns.)

3.  Make Schedules Public and Require Members of Congress to Publish their Official Calendars.  (Senators and Representatives are elected by the people and are employees of the people, and, as such, their business is the people's business - and the people should know what their employees are doing and with whom they are meeting.)

4.  Ban Foreign Corporations and Governments from Hiring Lobbyists.     (Foreign entities should not be able to gain advantage over American individuals and businesses through greasing the wheels of congressional access with money.  Obviously their interests may be at variance with the interests of US citizens and our government.)

(Promoting Good Government):

5.  Ban Members of Congress and their Spouses from Trading Stocks or Place Stocks in a Blind Trust.    (Members of Congress often get business information ahead of the general public, things that could affect stock prices, and they should be prohibited from profiting off of this insider information.  I personally have issues with using "blind trusts"  to manage stock investing because, as Donald Trump showed the world, blind trusts aren't always "blind.")

6.  Ban Leadership PACs, Which Let Lawmakers Spend Corporate Dollars on Personal Expenses.   (Having a "legal" way for corporations and the wealthy to shovel money directly into the pockets of senators and representatives smells like a close cousin to bribery.)

7.   Ban Family Members of Congress from Receiving Income from Lobbying Firms.    (One of the current US Senators from my state is married to a full-time lobbyist and he has three grown children who all make their livings lobbying the government.  Tell me that doesn't occasionally impact the way he votes on legislation - or the way he sees the world.)

8.  Crack Down on 3rd Party Organizations Funding Trips for Members of Congress to Influence Votes.   (Those who spend money to entertain legislators are expecting something in return.  Where there is a "quid," there is almost always a "pro quo" - count on it!)

Kudos to Trudy Busch Valentine for drafting and publicizing a policy to enforce a code of ethics in Congress.    Senators and representatives should be wholly focused on meeting the needs of their constituents, their districts, and the United States government.   Serving in our national legislature or any of the state legislatures should be about meeting the needs of those back home and advancing society - and not about looking for ways to increase personal wealth or power.

Trudy's ethics policy is a model for how things should and could be in this country, and hopefully it will inspire others to emulate her efforts and even to expand on them.

Good job, Trudy!