Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) today voted on a reform package to strengthen the ethical standards in Congress and return to the values of budget discipline.
Etheridge voted over the first two days of the 110th Congress for the Honest Leadership and Open Government bill, which the House passed.
“I have always held that public office is a public trust. It is time to clean up the corruption that has plagued Congress. These reforms will restore integrity to Congress and rebuild the bonds between the American people and their elected leaders,” said Etheridge.
The Honest Leadership and Open Government package will cut the ties between lobbyists and legislation and restore integrity to the House of Representatives. The package bans gifts and travel from lobbyists. It also restores democracy in the House by committing to a fair and open process for amendments, ending 2-day work weeks, banning arm-twisting to reverse the outcome of votes and guaranteeing more time to read legislation before voting on it.
The bill also provides for fiscal responsibility by requiring pay-as-you-go budget discipline with no new deficit spending. The rule will prevent consideration of any bill, amendment or conference report that would increase the deficit over a five- or ten-year period. It also ensures there is full transparency of earmarks, ending deals between special interests and lobbyists.
“Between the cost of the war in Iraq and the Administration’s record of fiscal mismanagement, Congress has a big job ahead of us to fix this budgetary mess,” said Etheridge.
“One of my proudest accomplishments in the House was voting to balance the federal budget during my first term. I strongly support returning to the values of a balanced budget. It is both unwise and immoral to continue budget practices that require us to spend three times as many federal funds on interest on the debt as we invest in our nation’s future through education.”