Zachary T. Space: “I rise today to ask you to support this historic rules package. The winds of change have brought me here. I don't think…”

“I rise today to ask you to support this historic rules package. The winds of change have brought me here. I don't think it is too much to say that my very presence before you constitutes a message to this body, a message sent from the good people of Ohio's 18th District. By these presence, I wish to deliver this message on behalf of my constituents. The message is that the legislative process is broken. Rather than serving the needs of working families, this Congress has shown through past actions a preference for serving interests of the privileged few. Nowhere has this been more clear than in the influence wielded by lobbyists. The influence of lobbyists has compromised the reputation and even the health of this body. In order to restore the integrity to this Chamber and restore America's faith in its elected officials, we must undertake substantial ethics reform. Our actions today will not only enhance the most fundamental principles of a democratic society; they will remind our constituents that we are a body of the people and not above the people. The package before you will breach the circle of deceit between lobbyists, their wealthy clients, and this body. It represents long overdue real ethics reform. It bans House Members and their employees from accepting gifts from lobbyists and the organizations that hire them. It prohibits lobbyists from paying for or organizing Member travel, and it eliminates the all-too-common practice of legislative jet-setting.”