Tester Calls Both Parties Ethics Reforms “Not Enough”

[Jon released the following Press Release earlier today.]

Tester Calls Both Parties Ethics Reforms “Not Enough”

Tester Announces He??ll Live by Stricter Rules

Ethics changes proposed by Democrats and Republicans in Washington this week ???are just not enough to change the ???pay-to-play??? culture of Washington,??? says Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Jon Tester, who Thursday announced his plans to fight for — and abide by — far-stricter ethics standards.

???In the light of the Republican corruption scandals that Conrad Burns?? relationship with Jack Abramoff have highlighted, Washington politicians of all stripes are scrambling to get behind anything they can call reform,??? Tester said. ???But the proposals I have seen this week are just not enough to change the ???pay-to-play?? culture of Washington.

???I??m all for strengthening rules, but it??s even more important to change the culture of corruption. We need to let Washington know now that the ???For Sale?? sign has to come down, and Conrad Burns?? days of ???pay-to-play?? are ending,??? Tester said. ???But judging by how some of the so-called reforms being discussed this week are already meeting resistance from Washington insiders — senators and lobbyists — I??m not going to hold my breath. We simply can??t trust the foxes to guard the henhouse and enact reforms.

???What Montanans expect and deserve is a senator who can be counted on to bring Montana??s values to Washington rather than abandoning those values once he gets there,??? Tester said. ???Today I??m announcing the rules I will live and work by, regardless of whether any of these other measures are passed. And I pledge this — I??ll get tougher on ethics issues as time goes by, no matter who stands against me.???

Tester released the following pledge:

–I won??t just pass a law, I??ll set an example. I will fight hard to put an end to the culture of corruption in Washington, and I??ll live by a higher standard ??? a Montana standard of honesty, integrity and personal responsibility. And I??ll ask a Montana judge to conduct an ethics audit of my office every year so Montanans know I??m living up to their expectations.

–I??ll ban all lobbyist gifts, meals and travel paid by outside sources. All of it. That includes travel, lodging and meals in conjunction with fundraisers. I won??t take personal favors from lobbyists, and neither will my staff.

–I??ll shut my door to former members and staff who try to cash in on their connections. I will not allow my staff or myself to be lobbied by any former member of the Senate with whom I have served or by a former member of my staff who becomes a registered federal lobbyist. And I??ll work to expand the current ban on lobbying by former members and staff to three years to shut the revolving door for those who want to profit from the connections they made in public service.

    I??ll end secret meetings with lobbyists. At the end of every business day I will post a list of every in-office meeting that I or my staff has had with a lobbyist. And I will work to require all lobbyists to declare on a publicly available website, on a weekly basis, every meeting they have with a member??s office.

    –I??ll work to end the anonymous ???earmarks?? that allow a member of the Senate or the House to slip in a lobbyist??s favorite pork-barrel spending item without any accountability. I??ll fight my hardest for Montana and I??ll do it openly. And I??ll use the bully pulpit of the Senate floor to call attention to every anonymous earmark.

  • –I??ll close loopholes, not loosen them. Those seeking special access to senators are like water ??? they??ll always seek out the cracks in the wall. Lobbyists will always try to find a loophole, even on the strictest rules. So I??ll keep looking for ways to stop them, and the corrupt legislators they hope to influence.

###

Posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2006 at 3:20 pm. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.