Kathy Castor: “I urge adoption of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act and the Lobbying Transparency Act and this rule.…”

“I urge adoption of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act and the Lobbying Transparency Act and this rule. Citizens deserve open and honest leadership. We must stay on track with lobbying reform. And after the scandals in past years, we will continue the fight for reform and change so that the American people trust that Members of Congress are making decisions that benefit our communities and our country, and not some powerful special interest with undue influence. Unfortunately, there has been a price to pay for the culture of corruption. You can see it when you gas up at the pump. Big Oil has gotten millions and billions in tax breaks, while people that we represent pay higher gas prices. And in Florida, the big oil companies have been granted a right to drill off our beautiful coastline. You can see it when our seniors are pushed into privatized Medicare. The HMOs get a slush fund, and seniors pay more for health care. You can see it when students and their families pay more for student loans because of sweetheart deals. The special interests get tax breaks, and our kids pay off higher debt. Mr. Speaker, today we will keep our promise to the American people to fight for change and reform.”