Why Vote for Joe? A Real Anti-Corruption Plan

“Our Constitution doesn’t begin with the phrase, ‘We the Democrats’ or ‘We the Republicans.’ And it certainly doesn’t begin with the phrase, ‘We the Donors.'” – Joe Biden

In March 2019, House Democrats introduced and passed a sweeping anti-corruption and pro-democracy reform bill that was never taken up by the Senate.

The anti-corruption piece of the bill tackles wrongdoing through campaign finance reform and enhanced government ethics laws. Joe Biden’s anti-corruption plan follows the same outline.

To reduce the influence of money in politics Biden and Democrats will:

• Support the public financing of elections, paid for by a fee on banks and corporations found to have committed corporate malfeasance
• Support a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizen’s United decision
• Insist on increased donor transparency to end dark money groups
• Force Facebook and Twitter to disclose funding sources for political ads
• Establish robust disclosure requirements to eliminate the influence of foreign money in U.S. elections
• Prohibit lobbyist contributions to the candidates and politicians they lobby

To strengthen ethics laws, Joe Biden and Democrats will:

• Require presidential candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns
• Prohibit Congress members from settling sexual harassment or discrimination cases with taxpayer money
• Strengthen whistleblower laws to prohibit White House interference in Justice Department investigations
• Establish a Commission on Federal Ethics to enforce federal ethics laws
• Strengthen Inspectors General laws to give them the independence and subpoena power they need to hold corrupt officials accountable
• Prevent the president and other senior Executive Branch members from being influenced by personal financial holdings

Joe Biden recognizes that the people’s business cannot be done if structural influences within the government favor lobbyists and big donors. He will work to fix the system to work for everyone, while actually holding corrupt officials accountable.