Yesterday Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mark Begich unveiled a government ethics reform plan and put forth a personal ethics pledge. Additionally, Begich brought financial transparency to a new level by posting 21 years of personal financial disclosure records available for download on our campaign website.
It probably comes as no surprise to the Daily Kos community that reforming government ethics is the first major policy plan that Mark puts forward in his campaign to represent Alaska in the US Senate. Alaskans have been let down by their elected officials. Secret meetings, hidden favors, special access for special interests, and now convicted legislators have hurt Alaskan families. And our opponent, Senator Ted Stevens, has a poor record when it comes to supporting stronger ethics legislation in the Senate.
Here's Mark's Alaska ethics pledge:
1. Make financial records open, detailed, and easily accessible: Mark Begich won’t wait for Congress to shed more sunshine on senator’s finances and campaign funding. He will voluntarily post his financial disclosure form on his Senate website. He will show – to the dollar – his income and that of his spouse. He will make these disclosures available permanently and in a format that Alaskans can easily search.
2. Ban secret meetings, secret earmarks, and hidden connections: From day one, Mark will post his daily Senate office schedule on his website so every Alaskan knows he is working for Alaska families, not special interests. Mark will make public every earmark he seeks and those requested of him formally or informally, and who it will benefit; and, he will post on his website any family member or former staff person that is lobbying Congress. To close the revolving door between lobbyists and staff, Mark will ban any former staff person from lobbying his office on any issue.
3. Stop special Senate privileges and protections: Over the last 10 years, senators have received 8 pay raises and yet have only increased minimum wage one time. Mark won’t support automatic pay raises. He will insist that they are voted on out in the open. When a pay raise vote does come up, he will not support it unless there is an increase to the minimum wage first. He will also push for an Office of Public Integrity that brings citizen ethics oversight to the Senate.
4. Provide timely and complete campaign records: Currently, both presidential and House candidates are required to file their FEC reports electronically, but the Senate has exempted itself. Mark will push the Senate to also file electronically, but will voluntarily file his FEC reports electronically.
5. Give Alaskans straight answers and more access: Mark Begich is always an open book. He will give Alaskans straight answers, not hide behind high-priced lawyers or the Senate Ethics Committee. Mark will bring the same openness and citizen participation he offered as mayor to his Senate office.
Going beyond the pledge Mark will abide by from Day One as a U.S. Senator, he's already putting forth a clear vision for how he plans to reform Washington. His ethics plan addresses nine key problems - from secret foundations to former staffers lobbying their bosses - and provides solutions to each problem that will rebuild public trust in their representatives in the Senate.
While I won't go through all nine points of the Begich ethics plan, apropos of recent concerns about the influence of lobbyist over John McCain's campaign, Cliff Schecter points out the lobbyist disclosure requirements are really strong:
2) Lobbyist Disclosure
Problem: Recent ethics reforms helped reign in the cozy relationship between lobbyists and senators, but failed to provide enough detail to truly track what provisions lobbyists are seeking and who they are lobbying. Reforms also left the door open for Senate spouses to still lobby members if they were registered lobbyists at least one year prior to the most recent election of their spouse to office. These loopholes leave the door open for Senator’s family members to still gain personally from their close connection to the Senator. It also leaves to many unanswered questions about who is lobbying Alaska’s senators and what they are trying to get. Alaskans should be able to answer these questions without having to hunt through cumbersome files.
Solution: Lobbyists should have to report on their disclosure form the senators or committees they are lobbying, specific provisions or projects within legislation they are lobbying for, which, if any, senators or senior staff they are related to, and what provisions or projects they secured. In addition, senators should have to disclose on their website whether any of their family members are registered lobbyists and link to Senate lobbying disclosures for those family members.
One of the biggest reasons Democrats were successful in 2006 electorally was that there was a strong national desire to end the culture of corruption in Washington. The 2007 ethics bill made real improvements, but we have a ways to go. I'm excited by the breadth and depth of Mark's ethics plan and I look forward to seeing Senator Mark Begich fighting for higher standards and stronger benchmarks come January 2009.
Here's a video of yesterday's press conference outside the federal courthouse in Anchorage:
If you support the work Mark is doing to bring ethics and accountability to Alaska, please take a moment donate to our campaign through Act Blue.
Disclosure: I work as Mark Begich's Online Communications Director. You can learn more about Mark's campaign for honest leadership at Begich.com.