With rare exceptions, it's probably a good thing when agreements emerge in Congress that are not only bipartisan but also across major ideological lines. Even better when those agreements include ethics and limiting the opportunities for executive branch abuse.
So a bipartisan bill introduced in the House Oversight Committee last week seems like a reason to celebrate. Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), a staunch conservative, and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), an outspoken liberal, have introduced the Presidential Ethics Reform Act, which would increase transparency and accountability for future presidents and vice presidents.
“In addition to requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest while in office, the bill would require the president and vice president to disclose foreign payments, significant gifts, loan transactions, and tax returns for the two years before, during, and two years after they left office,” the committee's press release stated. “The bill would also require the president and vice president to disclose any close relatives to whom they received foreign payments, significant gifts, or loans.”
Such transparency might have mitigated the recent controversies surrounding the children of former President Donald Trump and especially President Joe Biden, or it might have made it easier to condemn and punish unethical behavior. The bill would also require disclosure when family members accompany the president or vice president on official business trips, and more importantly, when those family trips are for business purposes.
The latter, of course, would refer to his son, Hunter Biden, then-Vice President, visiting China aboard Air Force Two in pursuit of millions of dollars' worth of business.
Had it already become law, the bill would have avoided much of Trump's secrecy, requiring the president and vice president to disclose their tax returns for the two years before and during their term in office, and for two years after.
“The American people have a right to ensure that their public offices are not up for sale,” Comer said..
the result,”[r] “By empowering people to evaluate the performance of their leaders,” Porter said, “these reforms will help restore public confidence in their government and strengthen our democracy.”
On this point, both Porter and Comer are wise: the American presidency has evolved into the most powerful position in the free world because America is so big and strong, and because of the balance of power intended by the Founding Fathers. At the inner For many years, the U.S. government has been tilted in favor of the executive branch.
The concentration of too much power in anyone's hands creates an incentive for abuse. While the American presidency is not (yet) inherently abusive, the opportunities for abuse are quite high. And even when behavior is not abusive, the public is naturally cynical and begins to believe that executive secrecy is probably malicious.
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Transparency would help cure that skepticism and, as Porter put it, slow or halt the erosion of public confidence in our constitutional system, which has proven to be remarkably practical and fair despite our human failings.
Of course, all bills deserve scrutiny, and most bills need some tweaking, and this one is no exception. That said, congressional leaders should ensure that the Presidential Ethics Reform Act is scrutinized quickly and, barring any major unexpected problems, that it can be passed into law quickly.
