The newly elected blue wave Congress has been given a mandate to address and end the corruption in our nation’s Capitol.
I believe once the new Congress completes that task, the new Democratic majority can move forward with the challenging task of leadership with integrity and clean hands.
Their first order of business must be enacting legislation that eliminates the corruption they inherited and restores our nation’s confidence in its leaders. Examples of actions they can take include putting an end to stock ownership and trading for members of Congress; overhauling federal campaign finance laws; and establishing strict ethics rules for members of Congress, the Supreme Court and the executive branch.
But the first and most important action the blue wave Congress must take is passing legislation that requires every member of Congress and their spouses to make their federal IRS tax returns available to the public every year that they are in office. Requiring that transparency of all members of Congress is a straightforward and appropriate way to help ensure the integrity of the legislative branch of government.
Our Constitution gives us every reason to expect those whom we elect to serve in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will be honest stewards of the trust we place in them. But that’s not what is currently happening in Washington.