U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren would like to stop members of Congress and the White House staff from owning individual stocks — and replace those investment instruments with government-managed accounts.
Those are just two of the dozens of proposals dotting the Massachusetts Democrat's sweeping new legislative package, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, which she unveiled Tuesday. Warren said the bill is designed to "eliminate the influence of money in federal government."
While the measure is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate, it comes amid speculation that Warren could run for president in 2020. President Donald Trump ran on "draining the swamp," but his administration has been racked with corruption scandals, while many of Trump's private businesses have reaped financial gains during the early stages of his term.
Warren's legislation would also impose a lifetime ban on lobbying for presidents and federal lawmakers, and would bar U.S. lobbyists from using foreign cash to affect U.S. government policy. It would slap new taxes on "excessive lobbying" of more than $500,000 a year, and also bind Supreme Court justices to a code of conduct recognized by other federal judges.
