Castor Champions Reforming Washington
Washington,
Feb 9 -
STOCK Act passes banning insider trading
Line Item Veto will address wasteful budget items
DISCLOSE Act filed today to tackle secret money in elections
U.S. Representative Kathy Castor today heralded three important reforms that will improve the way Congress works and limit the influence of money and special interests on politics.
“Americans are crying out for fairness in government,” Castor said. “Our neighbors feel like the deck is stacked against them. We must stand up to the powerful special interests in Washington and ensure that Congress works for middle class families and small businesses on a level playing field.”
Today, the U.S. House passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, and earlier this week the Expedited Rescissions/Legislative Line-Item Veto passed. Castor was a cosponsor of both bills.
In addition, Castor is an original cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, introduced today, that will require “SuperPacs” to disclose their main contributors in political advertisements and report their expenditures. This legislation is in response to the Citizens United decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited funds to influence elections.
“Floridians know how our airwaves were flooded during the recent Republican Presidential Primary Campaign – over $15 million spent on negative advertising paid for by anonymous “SuperPac” donors,” Castor said. “It is time to make a serious effort to improve transparency and reporting in our political campaign finance system.”
The STOCK Act will prohibit Members of Congress and federal employees from profiting from nonpublic information they obtain via their official positions.
“I was happy to see that my colleagues put partisan differences aside today and passed legislation that requires Congress to play by the same rules as everyone else,” Castor said. “While Americans are changing their lifestyles to adapt to the economic situation, Congress hasn’t changed one bit, but we are putting an end to that.”
The Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011 would create a Constitutional process that enables the President to propose and the Congress to vote in an expedited manner on the elimination of unnecessary or hidden individual discretionary spending items. It also requires that all savings from the line-item vetoes be devoted to deficit reduction.
“Congressional spending and oversight is broken,” Castor said. “I support the bipartisan Line Item Veto and Rescissions Act to establish a new layer of accountability and allow us to vote to eliminate wasteful spending and programs in the light of day.”
“With Congress at record low approval ratings, at times it seems the only thing our two parties share is a dedication to fighting each other instead of fixing the country’s problems,” Castor said. “This week in these bipartisan reforms which take on the special interests, the influence of big money and Congress’s own excesses, we began to level the playing field for our neighbors.”
Click here to watch video of Rep. Castor speaking in support of the STOCK Act
Click here to watch video of Rep. Castor speaking in support of the Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011.
