Last week, a group of House legislators introduced a bill known as H.R. 1, the “For The People Act.” As a nonpartisan watchdog, we are excited to see that the bill takes concrete steps toward ethics reforms that we have long pursued, no matter which political party is in power, namely:
- Increasing the independence and authority of the Office of Government Ethics—making it an ethics watchdog with teeth.
- Restricting “golden parachute” payments from private companies to employees as a financial incentive to enter government service—curbing industry’s undue influence on policymakers.
- Strengthening penalties against lobbyists and others who fail to disclose work on behalf of foreign governments to influence public policy—holding bad actors more accountable.
As POGO begins another new year with a new Congress, we are encouraged by the ethics reforms in this bill, and will work to build bipartisan support for them. Click here to read more about this historic bill that is shaping up to be a beacon of transparency in a new year.
- Liz Hempowicz, Project On Government Oversight
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