Taxpayer Association Endorses Carl DeMaio's "Fix Congress First" Initiative to End Special Privileges In Washington

Press Release

California's leading taxpayer association, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, today announced its endorsement of Carl DeMaio's "Fix Congress First" Initiative. DeMaio's plan contains a comprehensive package of accountability reforms he wants imposed on Members of Congress to eliminate their special privileges and force Congress to live under the same laws as the general public without special exemptions.

"Carl DeMaio's Fix Congress First plan will force Congress to live under the same laws the rest of us do -- something that's long overdue," said HJTA President Jon Coupal in announcing the endorsement.

"Congress is completely broken and dysfunctional -- and the work of the American people is not getting done," DeMaio noted. "If we want better results from Washington, we have to start by fixing Congress first," said DeMaio as he unveiled the Fix Congress First Initiative.

"Members of Congress have developed a sense of privilege that the laws and standards that apply to the public do not apply to them," DeMaio noted. "The Fix Congress First Initiative will force Congress to live under the same laws as the rest of us -- no special exemptions," DeMaio said. DeMaio pointed to several examples of how Congress has exempted themselves from federal laws and voted themselves special perks that taxpayers do not receive. Among DeMaio's proposals:

NO SPECIAL EXEMPTIONS: Any law passed by Congress would be applied to Members of Congress themselves.
ELIMINATE THE PERKS: Take away SPECIAL Congressional health and pension benefits.
INDEPENDENT ETHICS COMMITTEE: Replace Members of Congress on Ethics Committee with outside appointees selected through an independent process
FULL DISCLOSURE: Require Congress comply with all open government rules.
READ THE ACTUAL BILLS FIRST: Impose a 72 hour rule to post the complete text of all legislation online before any votes occur.
NO BUDGET, NO PAY: Permanently take away Congress' pay for every day the budget is late -- reducing the chance of future government shutdown
DeMaio also dismissed claims by politicians such as Rep. Scott Peters that Congress has already enacted enough reform and is operating in an open and accountable manner. "Just as he did when he denied for years that San Diego had a pension crisis, Scott Peters is now denying that Congress needs to be reformed," DeMaio said.

DeMaio conceded that his accountability reforms will not be popular in the "privileged" culture of Capitol Hill, but he pointed to his ability to build broad-based bipartisan support to get major reforms done despite big opposition - such as with his landmark Pension Reform Initiative in San Diego.

Source