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Fighting to Bring Integrity and Accountability Back to Washington

On the day she was sworn into office, January 4th, 2007, Congresswoman Sutton stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and took action to break the ties between politicians in Washington and those who seek to buy their influence. On that very first day, she helped lead the effort to pass groundbreaking ethics reform, raising the standard of ethics for the House of Representatives. Since that time, she has continued to be a leader in the effort to end the culture of corruption in Washington.

Breaking the Hold of Lobbyists on Policy Makers

Congresswoman Sutton knows that for too long, policies have been unduly influenced by corporate lobbyists and special interests. Since that first day in Congress she has worked to bring our policies back in line with the needs of the American people. She led the fight to pass legislation to end the K Street Project, a pay-to-play culture promoted by the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress. It also banned gifts and trips paid for by lobbyists.

She is also a cosponsor of H.R. 804, the Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act. This legislation would amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require certain coalitions and associations to disclose their lobbying activities, and report these activities on a quarterly basis.


Investigating Ethics Abuses by Members of Congress

Members of Congress have a responsibility to the American people, and they must be held accountable when they violate ethics rules. That is why Congresswoman Sutton led her fellow Freshman Members in calling for a nonpartisan and independent ethics body that would initiate and examine ethics investigations. She then managed the debate on establishing such a body within the House of Representatives. On July 24, 2008, House Leadership announced the eight board members for the Office of Congressional Ethics.

Congresswoman Sutton was also a co-sponsor of H.R. 476 which strips pensions and other retirement benefits from Members of Congress convicted of certain felonies. Congresswoman Sutton voted in favor of the measure which passed the House by a vote of 431-0 on January 23, 2007.

To enhance the independence of the Inspector General’s office, Congresswoman Sutton introduced and managed floor debate on H.Res.701, the rule leading to the passage of H.R. 928. This legislation would, among other things, amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to enhance the independence of the Inspectors General, as well as create a Council of the Inspector General on Integrity and Efficiency.


Bringing Accountability to Federal Contracting

Taxpayers have a right to expect that federal agencies are using their money in a responsible and efficient manner. That is why Congresswoman Sutton introduced H.R. 2198, the Contractor Accountability Act, which would require an annual report on contract oversight by Federal departments and agencies. The report would be required to contain: (1) a certification that the agency has exercised oversight over each contract or order sufficient to ensure that each contractor is fulfilling the obligations specified; and (2) a list of the names of each contractor found to not be fulfilling its obligations. Each report would be publicly available on the agency's website.

She also introduced and managed floor debate on H.Res.702, the rule leading to the passage of H.R.2740, the MEJA Expansion and Enforcement Act. With Congresswoman Sutton’s support, this legislation passed the House and strengthens accountability requirements for personnel working under Federal contracts. The legislation requires the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to report to Congress on the status of their investigations into alleged criminal misconduct committed by contract personal. It also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report annually to Congress on suspected criminal misconduct by contractors and on fatalities resulting from the use of force by contractors.


Congresswoman Sutton has also supported:

H.R. 6411, the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act: Congresswoman Sutton is a co-sponsor of this legislation, which would improve USASpending.gov to make it more accessible and user friendly. This website allows citizens to learn how their tax dollars are being spent, and catalogues nearly $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, loans and other spending.

H.R. 3928, the Government Contractor Accountability Act: Congresswoman Sutton co-sponsored this legislation, which would require companies receiving 80% or more of their annual gross revenue from federal contracts to disclose the salaries of their most highly-compensated officers.

H.R. 5712, the Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act: This legislation closes a loophole so that mandatory fraud reporting requirements would apply to U.S. contractors working abroad. It requires mandatory fraud reporting for all U.S. contractors who have $5 million or greater in federal contracts, regardless of where the work is being done.

H.R. 1362, the Accountability in Contracting Act: This legislation would implement stronger restrictions on “no-bid” contracts. Among other provisions, this would limit the contract period for “no-bid” contracts to eight months and require agencies that award over $1 billion in contracts to encourage competition and minimize their use of “no-bid” contracts.

H.R. 3033, the Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act: This legislation would create a comprehensive, centralized database that would monitor the federal procurement process. This would account for the performance of federal contractors and help protect taxpayer dollars.

H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act: this legislation strengthens protections for federal whistleblowers who report waste, fraud and abuse.

H.R 4881, the Contracting and Tax Accountability Act: this legislation would withhold federal contracts from corporations that are delinquent in their federal taxes.