Restoring Faith In Government

Rob Miller proposes an ethics reform package that will restore South Carolinians’ faith in government.  Keeping Washington honest will be one of Rob’s highest priorities as a member of Congress, and changing the way Washington does business is critical in eliminating the culture of corruption.

Washington is broken.  Representatives like Joe Wilson have been abusing their power and wasting tax dollars for too long.  From bailouts and bad trade deals to skyrocketing unemployment, Washington politicians have lost touch with the voters who elected them in the first place.  Before we can get America back on track, we must eliminate the culture of corruption in Washington.

Miller’s proposal centers around seven areas of reform.

Reforming the earmark process to enhance transparency and accountability

The earmarking process has been out of control for years.  Politicians like Joe Wilson use tough rhetoric on earmarks during election years, but repeatedly fail to address the problem once they are back in Washington.  In 2009, when he was not up for re-election, Wilson secured 15 earmarks worth $23,334,000 and cast 12 separate votes in favor of keeping earmarks.  Now, in the midst of a contested re-election campaign, Wilson has changed his tune, calling for a temporary moratorium on earmarks.  South Carolinians deserve better.  Miller will fight for real reform, instead of empty campaign rhetoric.

To bring much-needed transparency and accountability to the process, Miller proposes the following reforms:

· Legislation banning earmarks for for-profit companies to ensure Members of Congress don’t steer taxpayer money to campaign contributors. In March, the House Appropriations Committee wisely amended the rules to stop for-profit earmarks.  This rule change must be made into law.

· Legislation requiring the creation of a single, searchable database, maintained by the House and Senate, listing all earmarks included in funding bills.  Currently, the information is cryptically buried in committee reports and the public must rely on good government groups to aggregate the information.

· Legislation requiring every member of Congress to disclose all of their earmark requests in a uniform, searchable database on his or her website.  Currently, the only information made public is a list of earmarks a member successfully secures in a funding bill.  Under this proposal, all requests – those granted and those rejected by the Appropriations Committee – will become public record.

Slashing discretionary spending

Spending is out of control in Washington.  When times are tight, families find ways to tighten their belts. Government must do that as well to restore the faith of the American people.  Miller proposes:

· A 3-5 percent across-the-board cut in discretionary spending.  The cuts would apply to all discretionary spending with the exception of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Slashing congressional pay

Congress must lead by example.  If we are going to ask Americans to accept a 3-5 percent cut in discretionary spending, the least members of Congress can do is agree to a 10 percent pay cut.  Miller proposes:

· Instituting an immediate 10 percent pay cut for members of Congress.

· A pledge to refuse any new congressional pay increase until the budget deficit has been erased.  If elected, Miller will donate any new congressional pay increases back to the United States Treasury until the federal deficit has been erased.

Requiring lobbyists to disclose contact they have with members of Congress

Currently, only lobbyists representing foreign entities must disclose which members of Congress they have directly lobbied.  This must change.  When the activities of lobbyists are brought into the full light of day, the members of Congress who do their bidding will be held responsible.  Miller proposes:

· Requiring lobbyists to submit quarterly reports detailing every contact they have had with a member of Congress, staffer, or Committee.

· Requiring lobbyists to disclose which client a lobbying contact was conducted on behalf of.

· Requiring lobbyists to disclose what issues they discussed with members of Congress or staff.

Extending the “cooling off” period before former members of Congress can lobby

Currently, former members of Congress may not lobby Congress for a year after they leave office.  These ethics rules must be strengthened. Miller proposes:

· Extending the so-called “cooling off” period, during which former members of Congress may not lobby Congress, to five years after a member leaves office.  This will help prevent former members from trading on their former positions and relationships with current members to benefit special interests.

Reforming congressional perks

In recent years, we’ve seen too many politicians from both parties abusing the privileges that come with elected office.  Miller proposes:

· Banning members of Congress from billing taxpayers to lease vehicles.  If you want to serve in Congress, you can drive your own vehicle.  Too many members of Congress, including Joe Wilson, have stuck taxpayers with the bill for excessive car leases.  That practice must end.

Reforming congressional per diems

Members of Congress have been caught pocketing taxpayer money intended to pay for meals while they are traveling. Over the past few years, hundreds-of-thousands in taxpayer money has been given to members of Congress without any oversight or documentation for how those funds were spent. According to the Wall Street Journal, Joe Wilson even admitted using leftover taxpayer money to purchase “marble goblets” as gifts in Afghanistan. This is just another example of our representatives twisting the rules to enrich themselves, and it must end. Miller proposes:

· New rules to track all per diem payments distributed to members of Congress and staff.

· New rules to ban members of Congress from using taxpayer money on gifts.

· New rules to ban members of Congress from keeping left-over per diem funds.

· Requiring a searchable, online database detailing all per diem payments received by members of Congress and how they spent the money.