Wayne Allard: “change has been the key word the last couple months and today it truly began. The Congressional Accountability Act is…”

“change has been the key word the last couple months and today it truly began. The Congressional Accountability Act is the first big step! There are many reasons to support this legislation, but some still have their reservations about complying with the same laws as all other Americans, so I want to address some of the myths surrounding Congressional Accountability. One argument concerns the constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government. This is based on the concern over executive and judicial branch oversight of Congress. If this were a problem, then the executive branch would be exempt as well and the Supreme Court would have upheld this separation in precedent cases. However, the opposite is true, the executive must comply and the Supreme Court has never upheld this idea. I have also heard the claim that elected officials, especially members of Congress, are uniquely vulnerable to charges against them and their jury would be an angry electorate. In my mind, political vulnerability is no different from economic vulnerability. This reaction is no different from the complaints of private sector employers facing complaints or suits from disgruntled employees, labor unions, or unscrupulous competitors. We should be required to defend our actions in the same manner as the people in the private sector.”