Fix Congress

Make Congress Do Their Jobs

• Make Congress work five-days a week, like most Americans
  • Congress cannot work together until they start actually working. That is why I proposed a 5 day work week for Congress, so we can make progress on the issues that matter to Americans.
• Make Congress actually vote on bills that are proposed within 60 days
  • If a bill is good enough to pass through its committee, it deserves a vote in Congress. Unfortunately, good ideas can be shot down if the Speaker or Majority Leader refuse to bring bills to a vote. Lets remove that tool of obstruction.
• Make Congress pass a budget, or they don’t get paid
  • You can’t expect to be paid if you don’t do your job. No Budget, No Pay is a cause I have championed since before I was elected to Congress. We need to make it permanent.
• Protect America’s Credit
  • Every time Congress risks defaulting on our debt, America’s economy and credit are put in danger. My bipartisan Responsible Budgeting Act would avoid recurring fights on this issue and refocus the debate toward fiscal responsibility.

An Election System That Works

• Make super PACs disclose their “dark money” donors
  • Super PACS allow special interests to pour massive amounts of money into our elections, without having to disclose where that money comes from. Voters deserve to make informed choices; that is why I’m calling for Super PACs to be required to disclose donations over $500.
• Make democracy about people not money; overturn Citizen’s United
  • The disastrous Citizens United decision paved the way for unlimited money in elections. We need a constitutional amendment to limit money in politics and return to a government of ‘We the People.’
• Protect Voting Rights for All
  • Every citizen with the right to vote deserves access to a ballot. We must restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act, and expand vote-by-mail nationwide.

A Government That Works

• Make budgets for the long-term
  • Annual budgeting is a recipe for Congressional chaos and only adds to government inefficiency. A simple switch to biennial budgeting would provide sorely needed predictability to federal agencies, our military, and the private sector.
• Consolidate redundant programs
  • Too many agencies waste taxpayer money by duplicating already existing programs. The Government Accountability Office has previously identified programs that should be consolidated. It is time to act on those recommendations.
• Make the federal government “Buy Smarter”
  • Federal purchasing is currently handled by each individual division. We could save time and resources by allowing agencies to leverage their purchasing power to get better deals for taxpayers.

A Congress That Is Ethical

• No First Class travel on the taxpayer dime
  • Under current rules, Members are allowed to use their office budgets to buy first-class airfare. Taxpayer money should never fund personal luxuries, and part of fixing a broken Congress is making sure that members are working to get things done for the people they represent, not just in it for the perks. This is an area I have been leading by example on for years.
• Make Members and staff receive sexual harassment and ethics training every year
  • Right now, Members of Congress and their staff are only required to attend one ethics training and no sexual harassment training. This is unacceptable.
• Make lobbyists leave the House floor
  • Former Members of Congress who have become lobbyists are allowed back on the House floor. There is no good reason for this.

A Congress That Is Transparent

• Make Congress reach out to their constituents
  • Many people are paying hundreds of dollars for services their local Representative’s office could provide for free. Members of Congress should be required to inform their constituents about what they can do for them.
• Make Members of Congress disclose their farm subsidies
  • In the same way Members of Congress are required to disclose their stock transactions, they should also be transparent when they receive crop insurance premium subsidies.
• Make Congress disclose trips paid for by special interest groups immediately
  • When a Member of Congress participates in a trip paid for by outside groups, their constituents should know about it. These trips should be publicly disclosed as soon as possible.

You can read more about my record on Government Reform here.