“This past Election Day, the American people told Congress that it was time to change course. With our troops facing an increasingly unstable situation abroad and news of scandals in our nation’s capital, the voters said enough is enough. They asked for a new direction of hope and opportunity and they asked for a Congress that would take responsibility for its actions.
“Today, the U.S. Senate responded with the passage of the strongest ethics reforms in a generation. This bill takes the first steps towards restoring public trust and changing the way business is done in Washington, D.C.
“In bringing a strong and bipartisan ethics reform package to the floor as our first piece of legislation, the Democratic leadership worked to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, civility, and accountability.
“I will continue to make decisions the way I always have – by traveling around our state and hearing from our communities how I can help them to grow, advance, and improve their own quality of life with good policies and assistance from the federal government.
“Last November, the American public held Congress accountable for the culture of corruption that had been allowed to fester with few checks or balances. Today we took a critical step to hold Congress accountable and begin to rebuild the public’s confidence in our government.
“As we continue to work through critical issues like the war in Iraq, healthcare, energy, education, and stem cell research, the American people deserve to know that the only interests we are taking into account are theirs.”
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