Ben Cardin: “I strongly support S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. I urge my colleagues to support…”

“I strongly support S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. I urge my colleagues to support this measure, which is the most sweeping reform of ethics and lobbying laws and rules in many years. I am pleased that we have worked in a bipartisan fashion on ethics and lobbying reform. The American people made their views clear in last year's election, and sent a strong message to Congress to clean up our act. In January the Senate passed this legislation as our first order of business by a vote of 96 to 2, and the House followed suit by a vote of 411 to 8 earlier this week. I hope that the Senate will once again give overwhelming, bipartisan approval of this legislation, and send it to the President for his signature into law. I have been privileged to serve as a legislator--first in the Maryland House of Delegates, then in the United States House of Representatives, and now in the United States Senate. I appreciate the trust that the people of Maryland placed in me. And I appreciate how important it is that we adhere to the strictest ethical standards. The American people need to believe their Government is on the up and up. The legislation represents a significant change in the way elected officials, senior staff, and lobbyists would do business. When it comes to how we treat ourselves, this legislation provides much greater transparency in earmarking.”