Elizabeth Warren's anti-corruption plan: her first priority if she is elected

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has just seen the first major piece of legislation she would try to pass through Congress if she were elected president: a broad package of anti-corruption measures to fight the lobbying culture firmly rooted in Washington, DC.

Warren's plan, released Monday morning, is an update of a bill she issued in August 2018, well before she announced her campaign for the presidency. And she made it clear that this would be the first major legislative priority of a Warren administration; Warren believes that money moves in politics have slowed progress in a number of areas, including the rising costs of health care, gun violence and climate change. "The franking of money from politics is at the heart of these problems," she said.

"The rich and the powerful have called the attacks in Washington since forever," Warren told Vox at Ezra Klein in June. "They are not going to just say," Oh, agree, agree. Now you need a wealth tax. Now, you want to make these other investments. "… I think that starting with the anti-corruption plan is the first. Push them back, and even if they struggle, start to overtake the rest. "

In other words, Warren's anti-corruption plan is his legislative cornerstone. If she were elected president, she would have a lot of support from the Democratic-controlled US House, which passed a similar similar bill to reform the fight against corruption and democracy, the HR 1 being its top priority, having regained its place in 2018. Democrats have a decent chance to retain control of the House in 2020, but overthrowing the Republican-controlled Senate will be much more difficult.

The outline of Warren's updated anti-corruption plan resembles the bill she issued last year, but several major updates have been adopted, including the prohibition of forced arbitration clauses and waivers of class actions in all employment, consumer protection, antitrust and civil rights cases. On Monday, Warren will deliver a speech detailing his plan near the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory site in New York, where workers, including immigrant women, have been organizing for better working conditions after a deadly fire in 1911.

"The most widespread problems are thwarted by big corporations and billionaires who do not want to pay taxes or who do not follow rules that use their money and influence to block major structural changes," Warren writes in his article. plan. . "We must call this for what it is: corruption, pure and simple."

Warren's anti-corruption plan, explained

Warren's latest anti-corruption plan contains nearly 100 proposals to change the way lobbying works in the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. It is modeled on the Anti-corruption law and public integrity she introduced last summer, but contains some major changes.

Here are the key points of Warren's plan:

• A lifetime ban on lobbying for presidents, vice-presidents, congressmen, federal judges and secretaries of cabinet.
• Apply conflict of interest laws to the President and Vice-President, asking them to place the companies in a blind trust to sell them. They should also invest assets that may present a conflict of interest – including real estate – in blind trust and sell them.
• Multi-year lobbying bans for federal employees (Congressional staff and federal agency employees). The duration would be at least two years and six years for those who wish to become business lobbyists.
• Prohibit congressmen and congressmen from serving on boards of directors. The plan would also prohibit government officials and members of Congress from sitting on for-profit boards of directors, whether or not they receive compensation.
• Ban lobbyists on any fundraising activities, including organizing political fundraisers or fundraising campaigns, and strengthen criminal laws against corruption by redefining an "official act" preventing politicians from accepting bribes. gifts or payments in exchange for government action.
• Require the IRS to issue an eight-year income tax return to all presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to require them to file income tax returns each year. The IRS should also validate the returns of members of Congress for a period of two years and ask them to file tax returns for each legislator year.
• Prohibition of members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, Federal Judges, White House staff, Congressional Officers and other officials from possessing or exchanging individual actions in the performance of their duties .
• Change the rule-setting process of federal agencies to significantly restrict the ability of corporations or the industry to delay or influence rule-making. Warren's plan would limit studies funded by groups facing conflict of interest issues in the regulatory process unless they are subject to extensive peer review.
• Broaden the definition of "thing of value" in campaign finance laws to go beyond money. Under the new definition, this could include opposition research by foreign governments.
• Create a new independent US Office of Public Integrity to enforce national ethics laws and investigate any potential violations. The office would also try to strengthen the laws on open archives, making recordings more easily accessible to the public and the press.
• Prohibition of forced arbitration clauses and waivers of class actions in all matters relating to employment, consumer protection, antitrust and civil rights.
• Strengthen transparency in some court cases by banning courts from using sealed regulations to conceal evidence in cases involving public health or safety.

Many previous attempts to enact anti-corruption laws have focused on Congress or executive power, but Warren's plan would increase the transparency requirements of the judiciary. It would extend the code of conduct of federal judges to those of the US Supreme Court (they are currently exempt). Warren's plan would also ensure that federal judges under investigation can not escape investigations by withdrawing from their positions.

"Our federal judicial system only works if the American people are convinced that it offers impartial justice, without bias or personal interest, that interferes with court decisions," Warren said. "If we want the American people to believe in it, we need serious reforms in the area of ​​judicial ethics."

Democrats in the House adopted a similar plan early in the year. Senate Republicans oppose it.

Warren investing his political capital in an anti-corruption plan is a good thing for a good reason: Democrats in the House have adopted a similar plan earlier this year and are eager to see it become law.

House Democrats introduced an anti-corruption bill, the HR 1, which was their number one priority when they came to power in mid-term 2018. The main difference between HR 1 and Warren is that the bill of the House of Democrats contains a set of pro-democracy reforms that would broaden the franchise and strengthen ethics laws. HR 1 also contained a plan for reforming the financing of public campaigns. Warren voiced support for this in her anti-corruption proposal, but she also said that the elimination of corruption should be the beginning of a structural change.

But if Warren were elected president and Democrats in the House retained their majority in 2020, she would have a partner willing to try to pass this law. Of course, the future of the bill will depend on the possibility for the Democrats to resume the Senate. The current Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, has vowed to be the "worst reaper" of HR 1, as well as several other political priorities of the Democratic Party.

Warren may be able to adopt some of these changes through an executive action. But to adopt a plan as broad as it is – a plan that touches all three branches of government – she needed the consent of both the House and the Senate.

Fighting corruption is also a wise political initiative. End End Citizens of PAC End Citizens shows that House House's anti-corruption plan is popular, not just among Democratic voters. The poll found that an overwhelming number of independent voters – 75 percent – said that cleaning up corruption was a very important issue, the most important among all the other pollsters.

The survey revealed that 75% of 2018 voters in Battle House districts said the top priority was to fight corruption in Washington, followed by 71% of those who wanted to protect social security and Medicare and 70% of those surveyed.

Warren started early to run as a candidate without financial influence; She did not participate in high-priced, in-camera fundraisers, and she chose to raise funds largely through donations from the grassroots.

Obviously, she still has to pass a competitive Democratic presidential primary. But if Warren reaches the general election, she will have a clear contrast between her and President Donald Trump, a scandalous outgoing president who embodies much of the corruption she denounces.