Ethics Reform

It All Begins with Trust

The American public has an increasing lack of trust in Congress and the White House. How we overcome the public’s mistrust of our government will determine, in considerable measure, whether democracy survives or fails in the decade ahead. Our political future is that dire.

The onus of restoring public trust and strengthening democratic governance lies with our congressional leadership, but it is a task that we, as the American public, must also shoulder. By advocating for comprehensive reforms that champion transparency, accountability, and ethics in our legislative and executive, processes, we can actively contribute to a more trusted government.

I am committed to fighting for the following reforms that might help us achieve this crucial goal.

Legislative Branch Ethics Reform

Ethics Committees Fortification: One pivotal reform I propose is to fortify the United States Senate and U.S. House Ethics Committees. By augmenting their authority and resources, we can ensure they can conduct impartial investigations into misconduct allegations. To serve the American public, these committees must function independently, devoid of partisan influence.

Adopt Clearer Conflict of Interest Rules:  We must agree to implement stricter rules to prevent conflicts of interest, including mandatory recusal from votes where there is a financial or personal conflict.  Detailed public disclosure of financial holdings and planned investments while in office and declaration of potential conflicts is required.

Stricter Enforcement of Existing Laws: Especially in the shadow of the past several decades, full of impeachments and special counsel investigations, we must ensure robust enforcement of existing ethics laws with meaningful penalties for violations, including expulsion for severe misconduct.

Whistleblower Protections:  This calls for strengthening protections for whistleblowers who report unethical behavior within Congress.  We should create independent bodies to investigate and act on whistleblower reports.

Campaign Finance Reform: We must diligently overhaul our campaign finance laws to limit the influence of money in politics. Introducing public financing options to reduce dependency on large donors and special interest groups is essential.

Lobbying Regulations:  This will enhance transparency around lobbying activities, including real-time disclosure of meetings between lobbyists and members of Congress or their staff. Extending the "cooling-off" period before former members of Congress can become lobbyists will also help strengthen congressional ethics.

Executive Branch Ethics Reform

Greater Oversight and Accountability: Dependable oversight mechanisms must be established for White House ethics, including periodic reviews by independent bodies. Implementing a process for swiftly and effectively addressing and rectifying ethical violations is also urgently necessary.

Strengthen the Office of Government Ethics (OGE): Increasing the OGE's independence, authority, and resources to investigate and enforce ethical standards within the executive branch will help improve Executive Branch ethics, especially if we also empower the OGE to impose penalties for ethical violations.

Stricter Use of Executive Privilege: Stricter use of executive privilege will build trust between the three branches of government and the American public by better limiting its use to withhold information from Congress and the public and ensuring it is used only for legitimate national security concerns.

Enhanced Financial Disclosure: This will require more detailed and frequent financial disclosures from the President, Vice President, and senior White House staff. The release of tax returns for the President and Vice President must be mandated when they run for office, not just when they win the election.

Robust Conflict of Interest Rules:  Implementing stricter rules to prevent conflicts of interest, including mandatory divestiture of significant financial holdings that could influence policy decisions, is essential. The President and senior officials should be prohibited from making decisions that benefit their economic interests.

Transparent Decision-Making: Enhancing transparency in decision-making processes, including publicizing the rationale behind significant policy decisions and executive orders, would be immensely helpful in ensuring a more ethical executive branch regardless of party control.  That includes ensuring that advisory committees and task forces are balanced and operate transparently.

Transparent Lobbying Activities: Enhancing transparency around interactions between White House officials and lobbyists, including real-time public disclosure of meetings and communications and implementing a "cooling-off" period before former White House officials can become lobbyists, will reinforce executive branch ethics.

Whistleblower Protections:  As with the legislative branch, strengthening protections for whistleblowers who report unethical behavior within the White House will significantly improve executive branch ethics, especially if we establish an independent body to investigate and act on whistleblower reports.

Ethics Training and Culture:  We should mandate regular ethics training for all White House staff to ensure ongoing awareness and compliance with ethical standards and help foster a more affluent culture of moral behavior and accountability within the White House.

Clear Nepotism Rules: We seek to enforce stricter anti-nepotism rules to prevent the President's family members from holding critical advisory or administrative positions unless they are adequately vetted for qualifications and potential conflicts.

Implementation Considerations

To ensure that any implementation of these ideas and concepts will optimally work, we also need to seek:

Bipartisan Support for these Reforms:  Building bipartisan coalitions to support and implement these reforms will help ensure they are considered legitimate and not merely partisan maneuvers.

Public Involvement: Engaging the public through consultations, hearings, and referenda to build broad-based support for ethics reforms is an added plus.

Legislative Action: To be effective, these reform proposals for the legislative and executive branches of our government must be introduced and approved legislatively. Comprehensive ethics reform should have a holistic impact, not a band-aid approach to making it happen.

Monitoring and Evaluating:  Establishing mechanisms for continuous monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of ethics reforms and making necessary adjustments will help ensure success.

There are many tasks we need to accomplish in Congress to strengthen the American public's trust in our government. It needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. I am but one person making these recommendations, but at least it is a start, so let’s get to work!