Ethics
I believe that ethics is something that must be woven into the very fabric of our government. Ethics goes to the heart of our American democracy–to the public trust and respect that is essential to the health of our constitutional system. In recent years, scandals in Washington have seriously eroded the public’s confidence in government and cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the laws and policies coming out of Washington. Our elected leaders should be focused on public service, not paid perks and privileges.
Minnesotans expect and deserve the highest ethical standards from their elected officials. As I have traveled across our state, Minnesotans have joined me in emphasizing the need for strong ethics rules to restore both integrity and common sense to our nation’s capital. Minnesotans tell me this is the kind of change they want to see in Washington.
That’s why, as I arrived in Washington in January 2007, my number one priority was ethics reform. Until we change the way Congress does business, we can never change the agenda. In my very first month, I joined with my fellow Senate freshmen to push for meaningful ethics reform. With broad bipartisan support, we succeeded in passing the most sweeping ethics legislation since Watergate – the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. With a similar bill passed in the House, I have every reason to believe that an ethics reform will be signed into law this year.
Even before being sworn in as Senator, I also adopted my own Minnesota-style ethics policy for my Senate office which goes well beyond what current Senate rules require and is modeled on Minnesota’s decade-old public ethics law, which is among the toughest in the nation. If these strict rules are good enough for our state lawmakers in Minnesota, then they are good enough for me as I represent the people of Minnesota in Washington.
I believe that the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 is a strong start to changing the ways of Congress so it can regain the trust of the American people. There is still more that can be done and I will continue to work for positive reforms that will enable Congress to better serve our nation and earn greater public respect.
As Minnesota’s U.S. Senator, these are my ethics reform priorities:
- Ban gifts from lobbyists. Lobbyists, as well as the corporations and organizations that employ them, should be prohibited from giving gifts (including free meals and tickets) to members of Congress. I am proud to say that the ethics reform package passed by the Senate in 2007 includes this prohibition.
- Restrict corporate-sponsored jet travel. Under past rules, members of Congress were able to travel on corporate jets at significantly reduced rates. This practice allowed undue influence by the lobbyists and corporations who arranged for members of Congress to travel in this privileged manner. The ethics reform package passed in 2007 now requires members of Congress to pay fair market value when flying on these planes – regardless of whether it is for personal, campaign or official purposes.
- Stop the "revolving door" in Washington. All too often in the past, members of Congress would leave Capitol Hill only to return through the so-called "revolving door," working as lobbyists and exploiting their connections and influence for the benefit of powerful special interests. The new ethics legislation passed by the Senate in 2007 includes new restrictions on both former members of Congress and senior Congressional staff to limit their ability to profit from their public service and gain lobbying access to their former colleagues.
- Require disclosure of political contributions and bundling by lobbyists. The American people deserve to know who has contributed to the coffers of their elected representatives. The new ethics bill passed by the Senate in 2007 requires that Members of Congress publicly disclose all contributions to their campaign committees, charities, inaugural committees and events to honor or educate elected officials.
- Ensure greater transparency in the legislative process. The American people deserve to know what their elected representatives are doing in Congress. The new ethics legislation passed by the Senate in 2007 contains a number of provisions to open the legislative process to greater public scrutiny and understanding — including ending the practice of secret Senate holds, making conference reports available on the Internet at least 48 hours before voting on them, prohibiting "dead of night" additions to conference reports and reforming the earmark process.
- Ensure stronger investigation and enforcement of ethics violations. Real reform also requires real enforcement. As a former prosecutor, I believe in the value of strong, sensible enforcement of all laws. I will be working to ensure that Congress adopts the kinds of strong, independent investigative and enforcement mechanisms that are needed to command public trust.