I recently heard Senator Dick Durbin respond to a question all of us are asking. "What are the Democrats doing?" We hear a lot about what the Republicans are doing wrong but not about what the Democrats are trying to do to correct it.
Durbin's response gave me pause. He said there is ample legislation that is being proposed by the Democrats in Congress, but because they are the minority party, it rarely gets out of committee or receives press coverage.
Later in the same week, I was on a conference call with a congressman discussing what we can do to change the culture of corruption that is so prevalent in Washington. I was surprised to learn there are already two bills that have been proposed. And guess what? They are stuck in committee!
HR 3925 is a bill to require all political appointees selected for public safety jobs to meet minimum standards of competence. It attacks the cronyism we saw at FEMA, the cronyism that cost people their lives.
It seems like a no-brainer. The people in charge of protecting us from natural disasters, terrorists and major industrial accidents should actually know what they're doing.
Sadly, that has not always been the case in the current administration, where loyalty is valued over basic competence.
The other bill, the Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act of 2005, attacks the culture of corruption that has taken hold in the Republican-controlled House.
The bill, HR 2412, would require more frequent and complete disclosure of lobbying activities. Lobbyists would have to list of every high-level staffer and member of Congress they met with, and members of congress and their senior staff would not be able to work as lobbyists for two years after leaving Congress.
Democrats are working to end this culture of corruption in Congress, but they are being stymied at every turn by a Republican leadership determined to retain its firm grip on unadulterated power.
The 2006 midterm elections are too long to wait for these needed reforms. I would urge all of you to make it known that these bills exist and to find out what your representative will do to make these bills law.
If your representative is unwilling to get behind these reforms, then the case must be made that they are no longer the right person to represent your district.
Corrupt congressional leadership is halting work that would make our country safer and our government more honest. We can not wait for the media to get the word out.
It's up to us to stop this corrupt Congress.