U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is pushing an effort to ban former members of Congress from lobbying once they are out of office.
Scott announced on Friday that he is backing U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s, R-Ind., “Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act” to ensure a lifetime ban preventing former members of Congress from lobbying.
“I’m proud to introduce this bill that imposes a permanent ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists,” Scott said on Friday. “Rather than serving the public, too many in Washington spend their political careers preparing for a lucrative job at a DC lobbying firm where they can cash in on their connections and their access. Congress should never serve as a training ground for future lobbyists, and putting an end to the revolving door is a common-sense way to make Washington work for families.”
“One of the reasons I left the private sector for Washington was to help President Trump drain the swamp and we can accomplish this by permanently banning congressmen and senators from lobbying Capitol Hill. Together we can end the revolving door of career politicians coming to Washington, spending time in Congress, then enriching themselves from their service to the American people,” Braun said.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last week. So far, there is no counterpart over in the U.S. House.
While Scott has been in the Senate for less than two months, he has worked with Braun before. Last month, they teamed up on the “End Pensions in Congress (EPIC) Act” which would end congressional pensions.
The EPIC Act would end taxpayer-funded congressional pensions, while letting members of Congress continue to use the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which Scott’s office labeled as the “government equivalent to a 401(k).”
“I’m proud to introduce this bill ending taxpayer-funded congressional pensions. I’ve been in Washington a month and I can already see how dysfunctional it is. When Congress failed to do their job and created the longest government shutdown in history, hardworking Americans were forced to go without pay while members of Congress were still collecting paychecks. That is wrong and is exactly why I’m fighting to reform Washington,” Scott said when the proposal was introduced in the middle of last month.
“It’s time for term limits and it’s time to make those in D.C. realize that the era of career politicians is over. Americans should not have to foot the bill for generous salaries and pensions for members of Congress, and I’m proud to be working on common sense solutions to make Washington work for families across the nation,” Scott added.
