Jeff Jackson: “3 months ago, the Supreme Court opened a loophole in our bribery laws. They legalized, in effect, a certain kind of…”

“3 months ago, the Supreme Court opened a loophole in our bribery laws. They legalized, in effect, a certain kind of bribery. That is bribery where the payment to the politician comes after they do the thing they have been bribed to do. The Supreme Court said: That is not bribery, but that is a tip. That is a gratuity, and it is not against the law. Justice Kavanaugh said: If Congress wants this to be against the law, then they should pass a law saying so. Well, I agree. My office has filed a bill to close exactly that loophole, and nothing else. We consider this a completely nonpartisan effort. This is simply about making sure that you cannot bribe politicians. That was the state of the law 3 months ago as we all understood it, and now that has been changed by this court ruling. My office filed a bill. We are very grateful that a Member of the majority, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw) has joined us on that bill. I am encouraging every Member of this body, regardless of party, to join us to make sure that we send a very simple statement to the country: You cannot bribe politicians. That should be against the law. Even if you come up with a somewhat creative way in which to do it straightforwardly, it is wrong. It should be illegal. If we pass this bill, it will be illegal once again. ____________________”