[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22645-22646]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             ETHICS REFORM

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, following the tragic collapse of the 
35W bridge in Minneapolis that took place yesterday, August 1, 2007, I 
returned to Minnesota this morning to learn all of the facts, and 
pledge the necessary Federal resources for the victims, the 
investigation, and the repair. By returning to Minnesota, I was, 
unfortunately, unable to be in Washington, DC, to vote on the motion to 
invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House Amendment S. 1; and 
the motion to concur with the House Message to S. 1. Had the tragedy in 
my State not taken me back to Minnesota, I would have voted for the 
motion to invoke cloture as well as the underlying bill. In short, I 
would have voted to change the course in Washington.
  When I arrived in Washington in January, my husband, daughter and I 
pulled up in our family Saturn, loaded with my husband's college dishes 
and a shower curtain that I found in the basement from 1980. But we 
brought a little more than dishes and shower curtains. We brought a 
commitment for change something the people of our

[[Page 22646]]

State Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, from Worthington to 
Moorhead to Duluth to Rochester called for very clearly and loudly in 
November.
  We also brought a Minnesota moral compass, grounded in a simple 
notion of Minnesota fairness: A notion that all people should be on 
equal footing in the halls of Congress.
  But they can't be on equal footing when their elected representatives 
are selling their votes for trips to Scotland or have cash in the 
freezer. They can't be on equal footing unless this new Congress 
delivers real, meaningful ethics reform.
  That's why I came to Washington back in January and why I am 
delighted to see that the Senate passed a strong, bipartisan ethics 
reform package today.
  Instead of maintaining business-as-usual, this ethics legislation 
will bring meaningful and robust reform in a number of critical areas.
  Among other things, this legislation will bring about more 
transparency for lobbyist bundling and political campaign fund 
activity; greater transparency in earmarking; a strong lobbyist gift 
ban; meaningful limits on privately funded travel; strong revolving 
door restrictions; and expanded public disclosure of lobbyist 
activities.
  Stated simply, these reforms are needed and they are needed now to 
restore the American public's faith in the integrity of their 
government as well as their elected representatives.
  It is hard to exaggerate the importance of what's at stake.
  Ethics is woven into the very fabric of how our government does 
business. And ethics reform goes to the very heart of our democracy, to 
the public trust and respect that's essential to the health of our 
constitutional system.
  Recent scandals have cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the laws 
and policies that come out of Washington. The American public's 
receding faith in the integrity of our legislative process means that 
ethics reform is now central to every public issue that we will 
consider--whether it's energy policy, or health care reform, tax 
policy, or even homeland security.
  The ability of Congress to deal credibly and forthrightly with these 
other issues depends on reforming our own ethical rules.
  The long-term challenges that we face in this country are enormous. 
They include high energy prices and a growing dependence on foreign 
oil; health care costs that have spiraled out of control; global 
warming that threatens the future of our environment and our economy; a 
mounting national debt; and a growing middle class squeeze.
  I believe that there are solutions to these challenges. We can 
achieve energy independence by investing smart and having some guts to 
take on the oil companies. We can get this country back on the right 
fiscal track, and move forward to more affordable health care. We can 
deliver much-needed and long overdue relief to the middle class. These 
are the things that the people of Minnesota sent me to Washington to 
fight for.
  The people of Minnesota also sent me here because they have not yet 
seen the bold change of direction that we need to make these solutions 
happen. Instead, they have seen a Washington where the rules are tilted 
against them and where the interests of well-connected lobbyists come 
at the expense of the interests of the middle class.
  When our energy policy is drafted in secret meetings with the oil 
companies, we all end up paying more at the pump because they've failed 
to invest in renewable energy. When our health care legislation is 
written by the drug companies, we all pay more because they've banned 
negotiation on prices. The people of this country know corruption when 
they see it and they saw last November who was benefiting and who was 
getting hurt.
  Business as usual doesn't only generate bad policy and wasteful 
spending. It also erodes public trust in the integrity of our 
government institutions, our elected leaders, and the law-making 
process itself. We the American people know what we want from 
Washington. It is this: a government that's focused on doing what's 
best for our nation, and on securing a better and more prosperous 
future for the people.
  This reform legislation gets us there. By passing this legislation, 
we will make a positive difference in how Congress performs its 
duties--and these reforms will send a strong, clear message to the 
American people that we are here for them and focused solely on 
representing their interests.
  And that's the way it should be.

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