GOVERNMENT REFORM
PLAN OF ACTION
Reign In Presidential Power. Restore Checks & Balances.
End the power of the electoral college. Encourage states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact while we push for a constitutional amendment.
Demand that partisan gerrymandering end. Encourage all states to use an independent, bipartisan commission to draw the maps.
Absolutely, positively do not allow earmarks. Ever.
Propose a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
Significantly Curtail Current Lobbying Practices
Demand complete transparency and accountability in all lobbying activities.
Create an independent enforcement agency that demands the strict compliance of lobbying laws and ethics rules.
Require the registration of lobbyists and their clients. Create a database that is easily accessible to the public.
Enact a five-year ban on lobbying by presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, and federal judges.
Enact a five-year ban on federal employees from lobbying their former office, department, or chamber of Congress after they leave the government.
Place stiff restrictions and disclosure requirements on the “revolving door” between the private sector and public officials.
Simplify legislation, retain the filibuster, and support new rules for bringing proposals to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Stop allowing continuing resolutions, omnibus spending deals, and debt-ceiling hikes to substitute for a real budget. It’s out of control.
Ethical Conduct and Government Accountability
Pressure Congress to:
Reform the Office of Government Ethics so that it can better enforce federal ethics laws.
Require written justifications from the president for pardons involving close associates.
Require family members of the president to disclose all business dealings with foreign entities.
Pass legislation to protect special counsels and inspectors general from improper removal.
Automatically terminate an emergency declaration within 30 days unless Congress votes to extend it. Impose strict reporting requirements on the Executive Branch.
Properly enforce the STOCK Act and strict pay-to-play restrictions on government contracts.
Prohibit government officials from holding or trading stock when they might be influenced by their agency, department, or actions.
Demand complete transparency in all government contracting activities.
Erect a barrier between the White House and the Justice Department. Do not tolerate political interference in any way.
Require all communications between the White House and Justice Department be made available to the inspector general.
Extend federal safeguards against conflicts of interest to the president and vice president.
Pass a law to enforce the safeguards in the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Fix the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to prevent presidents from cutting the Senate out of the appointments process.
Take concrete steps to streamline the nomination and confirmation process.
Reform the White House security clearance process.
Pass legislation to limit presidential trade authority. The law should require a congressional review whenever a president invokes Section 232 and should be retroactive for two years.
Thoroughly investigate the secret and extraordinary emergency authorities given to the president. At a minimum, require transparency and establish strict congressional oversight.
Pass legislation requiring agencies that perform scientific research to articulate clear standards for, and report on, how political officials interact with career researchers.
Enact legislation requiring proactive disclosure of government research and data.
Pass legislation that specifically prohibits political campaigns from accepting help from foreign countries (it is unbelievable that this must be written down somewhere).
Extend Congress’ sexual harassment law to include discrimination of any kind.
Revoke the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) discount, which allows stations to count only 50 percent of its audience toward the 39 percent audience cap.
Secure Whistleblower Protections. Implement severe penalties for revealing the identity of whistleblowers, and/or for threatening them in any way.
Close the loophole that allows FEC commissioners to decline to pursue a complaint citing “prosecutorial discretion.”