Ethics
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST
RESTORING OUR FAITH IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS
ENSURING CLEAN, FAIR ELECTIONS
WORKING FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST
MAKING GOVERNMENT OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLE
INTRODUCTION
Today many people have lost their faith in politics. They see the pervasive and corrupting influence of money, politicians who care more about Washington special interests and lobbyists than about the people they represent, and leaders who don’t live up to basic moral standards. We’re left with a system that favors party insiders and special interests, and lets them choose our candidate for us. That’s got to change: the people of this District send their representative to Washington, Washington doesn’t send its representative to us.
But we can’t lose hope in our political process. As the late Senator Paul Wellstone said, “Politics isn’t about big money or power games; it’s about the improvement of people’s lives.” We need to take back our government and start making it work for us, because together we have the ability to make a huge difference in our community, improving not only our own lives, but those of our families, friends, and neighbors.
I remember when politics was seen as a call to service, an honor that conferred great responsibility on those who chose to heed that call. After returning from World War II, my father worked to become the Democratic Mayor of my hometown, and watching him I learned how political leaders could be a force for good in the community. He was one of the first elected officials in Ohio to support John F. Kennedy, a President who later inspired us all to become more involved in the lives of those around us.
We can and must restore our faith in politics. We face many new challenges in the 21st century—economic dislocation from globalization, environmental upheaval from climate change, millions of Americans without affordable health insurance, security threats from non-state actors—and we will not adequately address them unless we have a functional government of, for, and by the people.
But it’s more than saying we need to change Washington. We need to elect representatives who offer a plan for reform, who return the “service” to public service, who show they want government to work for the people through their actions, not just their words. It starts with changing how we run elections, making sure that candidates are supported by voters, not bought and paid for by others before they even enter office.
We also have to make sure that once people get to Congress they follow the rules, which we can do by strengthening ethics enforcement and ensuring accountability and transparency. And finally, we need to start attracting the right kind of people to run for office. It's not just about making the rules, but electing people with the character to follow them.
Support Clean, Fair Elections
Running for Congress should be about who will best represent the voters of the district, not who has the most money. Yet these days it is nearly impossible to run without raising vast amounts of money—the average winning congressional race in 2006 cost $1.3 million. Congress should not be the province of millionaires and special interest candidates alone.
If we want representatives who work for the people, we need to make sure that candidates aren’t forced to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from Washington lobbyists and special interests in order to run. We need to level the playing field for people-centered, grassroots campaigns run for and by ordinary Americans.
That’s why I signed the Voters First Pledge, the only candidate in the race to do so, promising to make elections fair by supporting legislation to create a system of public financing for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to take only small donations. I will support legislation like the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act, which creates a voluntary public financing system for candidates that allows them to compete on a level playing field with privately financed opponents.
But we don’t need to wait. We can start working to curb the influence of money on politics right now. I have called on my Democratic primary opponents to join me in promising to spend no more than $750,000 on the primary campaign. That’s more than enough to effectively communicate with the voters and reduce the incentive for candidates to pay more attention to special interests than the people of this district. While both my opponents have so far declined my offer, I hope that they will take advantage of this opportunity to weaken the stranglehold of money on our political system.
No Influence from Special Interests
Representatives are supposed to serve the people of their district. For too long, however, the people of the 26th District have seen their interests come a distant second to Washington special interests. Promises to change this system ring hollow when candidates are funded by the very same interest groups they claim they will oppose once elected.
That’s why I’ve spent my time raising money from the people of this District, the most of any candidate in the primary. These are the people I am beholden to and these are the people I will go to Washington to represent. I welcome support from groups who share my priorities and interest in serving the people of this District: changing our energy policy and protecting our environment, bringing good-paying jobs to Western New York, providing healthcare to all, improving our education system, and ending the war in Iraq.
Transparency in Candidates’ Funding
With the tremendous amount of special interest and Political Action Committee (PAC) money being spent on elections, people deserve to know who is funding various candidates. Election law requires candidates to disclose the money they receive from PACs, but members of Congress are not required to disclose their association with so-called Leadership PACs, which they use to donate money to other candidates in order to curry favor and obtain leadership positions in their party.
These Leadership PACs help to perpetuate the system of patronage that gives undue power to those with money, without requiring candidates to reveal their relationship to them. Moreover, Leadership PAC money is not well-regulated, and can therefore be used to fund vacations, pay relatives, and engage in other ethically questionable activities. People who donate to these PACs have no idea who their money is supporting.
In Congress, I will support legislation to make associations with Leadership PACs public, so that people know where their money is going and from whom their candidates are receiving funding. I will work to increase the regulation of these PACs, so that they cannot be used for improper purposes. I will also support legislation such as the Campaign Expenditure Transparency Act, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives but not the U.S. Senate, to ensure that politicians’ PACs are not used to pay spouses and that payments to family members are disclosed.
Protecting People’s Ability to Vote
The right to vote is the most sacred trust given to the American people, enabling us to hold our leaders accountable and ensuring that the government acts in our interests. But too many Americans find it difficult to vote in the face of onerous registration and identification laws.
I will work to ensure that it is easier for Americans to vote in federal elections, putting power back in the hands of the ordinary people of this country. I will fight for same day registration in federal elections, including supporting legislation like the Election Day Registration Act, so that all eligible voters have an opportunity to make their voice heard.
I will also support efforts to make Election Day a federal holiday. Too many Americans find it difficult to vote on Election Day because of busy schedules or long lines after work or during their lunch hour. Hardworking Americans shouldn’t have to work that hard to vote, and they shouldn’t have to fear the possibility of recrimination from employers or lost wages for exercising a constitutional right.
I’ll also work to help expand voting options for people who have difficulty leaving their homes, whether it be the elderly, those with disabilities, or mothers with young children they can’t leave home alone. I will make sure that commonsense methods such as voting by mail, early in-person voting, and no-excuse absentee voting are available, so that no Americans loses out on their right to vote.
Prevent Soft Money Swiftboating
Federal election law regulates the amount of money that candidates can solicit from individuals, corporations or other groups to prevent anyone from exercising undue influence on the political process. There are loopholes in these restrictions, however, that exempt certain independent political groups, known as 527s, from the fundraising restrictions.
These groups can raise as much money as they want from whomever they want and then use that money to influence elections—the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a 527 that greatly affected the 2004 presidential election. 527s can also more easily contribute to politicians to gain support for favored pieces of legislation.
In the 2006 election, federally oriented 527s spent $143 million to support various candidates. We cannot have a system that allows unregulated money to drown out the voice of the people. I will work to appropriately regulate 527s and other political groups seeking to exploit loopholes in campaign finance law, making sure that everyone plays by the same rules.
Transparent and Accountable Government
Too much of what happens in Washington is inaccessible to ordinary Americans. Voters deserve to know what their representatives are doing for them in Congress. By harnessing the power of the Internet, we can increase the information citizens can readily and easily access. I will support legislation to provide Americans with greater access to information about how people vote on bills, what actions are taking place in committees, and the content of non-emergency bills before they are voted on.
I will also work to bring transparency to the Executive Branch. Over the last seven years of the Bush Administration we have witnessed unprecedented efforts at government secrecy, almost always to the detriment of the American people. The Executive Branch has used the so-called state secret privilege to conceal waste, ineptitude, and even potentially criminal activity. This presidential abuse of power not only encourages bad behavior by government actors, but it makes it next to impossible for the people to hold their leaders accountable. In Congress, I will support the State Secrets Protection Act, to ensure that the state secrets privilege is used only to protect important information, and not to conceal corruption and incompetence.
I also support recent efforts in Congress to provide stronger whistleblower protections for the brave men and women who speak out against government corruption. People shouldn’t be punished for making sure the government does its job properly and honestly.
Ensure Robust Ethics Enforcement
Ethics laws do not mean anything unless they are rigorously enforced. The U.S. House of Representatives took an admirable step in the right direction by creating an independent, non-partisan ethics board to monitor violations and make recommendations to the House Ethics Committee. But we can do more. We need an independent agency to serve as an ethics watchdog for the entire Congress, making sure that representatives aren’t responsible for policing themselves. I will support legislation in Congress to create such an agency.
