Reforming Washington

Statement

Last week, I rolled out a "Plan for Washington Reform," which includes a sweeping set of reforms to fix our current broken system. The commonsense reforms I'm proposing address some of the worst aspects of politics as usual and increase transparency, so the American people know what is really going on in Washington. This plan would decrease the bloated influence of lobbyists and special interests and would reform the Senate rules that prevent progress and passage of legislation to help Coloradans in need.

Specifically, the "Plan for Washington Reform" would:

* Reform salary, spending and perk practices-freeze Congressional pay and office budgets until the economy turns around and end health care subsidies until health care reform passes
* Reform lobbying regulations-ban Members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists and create stricter rules for lobbyist registration
* Reform earmark rules-ban earmarks to private, for-profit companies and make earmarks transparent
* Reform the rules of the Senate Floor-Eliminate anonymous holds change the filibuster rule in the Senate
* Reform campaign finance regulations-Enforce quick disclosure on campaign ads, as well as contributions, and support a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to regulate contributions and expenditures

After just a year in office, I, like most Americans, am fed up with the partisan gridlock. But I don't have a monopoly on good ideas, so if you have ideas about how to improve this plan or ideas to add to it, please share them through the online forum I recently unveiled. Our country needs a government that works for them. Not a government that works for special interests or is at a standstill because of a lone Senator's special interests.

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