AOC & Ted Cruz Strike Twitter Pact on Banning Lawmakers From Becoming Lobbyists – Would You Support the Plan?

What’s the story?

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) struck a deal over twitter to work together on passing a lifetime ban on former members of Congress becoming lobbyists. 
• Current ethics laws ban members of Congress from registering as lobbyists for a year (House) or two (Senate) after leaving office, but “the laws are loosely enforced and rife with loopholes,” the Washington Post explains.

How’d the deal come about?

AOC, a self-described democratic socialist, tweeted a report by watchdog group Public Citizen on the substantial number of former lawmakers who’ve taken lobbying or policy-influencing jobs.

"If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "At minimum there should be a long wait period."

About an hour later, Cruz, a staunch conservative, responded with:

“Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation?”

The freshman Democrat replied: "If you're serious about a clean bill, then I'm down. Let's make a deal."

"You're on," Cruz replied.

What are people saying?

• A handful of bipartisan lawmakers quickly agreed to co-sponsor the AOC-Cruz legislation.

• Craig Holman of Public Citizen, whose work spurred this strange bedfellowing, called the potential legislation “refreshing.”
• “Cruz and AOC willing to work together on revolving door abuses is quite a surprise, but it looks real,” he told the Post.

“They are talking about sponsoring legislation to impose a lifetime ban on members of Congress ever serving as paid lobbyists once they retire from public service. I don’t know how politically feasible this legislation would be, but it is a great starting point for some meaningful ethics reforms.”

What do you think?

Should the government pass a lifetime ban on former members of Congress becoming lobbyists? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Creative Commons)