In a rare display of bipartisan unity, U.S. representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, took to the House floor to passionately advocate for his groundbreaking "five-point plan" for political reform. With fervor, Khanna proposed measures such as term limits for Congress members and a ban on stock trading, striking a chord with the American public's long-held desires for change.
In this article, we delve into the details of Khanna's ambitious plan, exploring its potential to reshape the political landscape and curb the influence of money and power within the hallowed halls of government.
These ideas, once mere whispers of reform, are now gaining momentum, offering a glimmer of hope for a more accountable and transparent political future.
On September 14th, Rep. Ro Khanna delivered a speech on the House of Representatives floor calling for support of his "five-point plan".
Ro Khanna, a Democratic Representative for California, made a passionate plea to fellow lawmakers, and all Americans, by introducing a political reform plan that would implement term limits and ban all members of Congress from trading stocks.
Ideas like term limits and congressional stock trading bans have long been popular ideas among the general public.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner discussing his five-point plan, Representative Khanna stated that "this is one of the few things that I think unite people in this country".
One bill (H.J.Res.11), that proposed term limits, was recently introduced into Congress, back in January, by Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina. The bill received some bipartisan support, with 4 Democrats joining 98 Republicans in sponsoring the bill. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and there it still sits awaiting an action.
Interestingly, a bill (H.R.3003) that called for a stock trading ban was introduced back in April by two unlikely members of Congress: Matt Gaetz (Republican) and Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez (Democrat).
"There's a real crisis of confidence right now in our democracy that people have lost faith that Congress is working for them. We're just part of a system that has lost the faith of the American public. To get involved in this kind of political reform effort has to be serious. And I would like to see candidates from both parties that embrace the reform agenda to this consensus." - Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative from California's 17th district
The Five-Point Plan for Political Reform
Representative Ro Khanna's Five-Point Plan is as follows:
- Ban all PAC (political action committee) and lobbyist money from congressional campaigns.
- Ban members of Congress from stock trading, as well as ever becoming lobbyists.
- Term Limits for members of Congress.
- Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices.
- The implementation of an Ethics Code for the Supreme Court Justices.
If Khanna's plan is adopted, term limits for members of Congress will be set at a maximum of 12 years.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justices would be allowed a maximum term limit of 18 years.
"So much of the power of this country is in the hands of either millionaires and billionaires or in large amounts of money or institutions, organizations, corporations. People are able to raise money from online grassroots sources. It's not like you can't raise millions of dollars individually." - Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative from California's 17th district
People may be surprised by the amount of support that ideas, like term limits and stock trading bans, will actually get if they are seriously considered and brought into the public discourse.
The simple fact that these ideas even get bipartisan support highlights just how fed up and disappointed, both Republican and Democrat, constituents are with their political representatives.
For example, the American public may feel like their leaders have failed them, yet these same leaders continue to stay in power for years. This is the rot at the core of government that is essential to remove in order to prevent corruption.
Implementing term limits is a way to put a cap on that political power and prevent politicians from being in office for decades on end.
The time to ban stock trading for political representatives was yesterday. Politicians have profited for too long off of corrupt stock trading practices.
In my personal opinion, a ban on stock trading for members of Congress makes complete sense. It is almost baffling that these lawmakers are able to buy/sell the same stocks that they have influence over. Some politicians sit on committees that make decisions that ultimately affect certain companies and industries. Therefore, it is logical that a politician may use this influence and knowledge to sway their stock trading.
At the end of the day, I strongly support this legislation and I hope that we continue to see more of this in the future.
Do you support Term Limits for members of Congress and/ or Supreme Court Justices?
Do you support a Stock Trading Ban for all members of Congress?
What are your thoughts on this news? Join the conversation below!
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It's a nice idea, but some parts would be incredibly difficult to implement.
For example, would family members of congress members and senators also be banned from stock trading ? When does "pillow talk" turn into insider dealing ? Who gets to write this code of ethics, and is it just a way to enthrone the current agenda indefinitely ? Should the code of ethics be subject to review on a fixed timescale ? What sanctions would be in place for someone who breaks any of these rules ?
Something I think should be added to the mix is a requirement that all proposed legislation should address only a single item. End pork-barrel politics where utterly unrelated issues are stuffed into a bill as part of the negotiations process. Each bill should also have adequate time to be debated and scrutinised. No more "vote it in and then you can see what's in the thousands of pages".
The real issue with Western politics (in all countries - I'm from the UK, and it's just as bad here) is that most countries have a 2-party system, or a governing coalition and an opposition one which amounts to the same thing. But the government and opposition are far closer to each other in every way than they are to the people they are supposed to represent. They've merged to become a paternalistic, elite uni-party which pushes the WEF agenda no matter what the ordinary people want.
You bring up a lot of great points and questions. Personally, I am not entirely sure what the best answers are to the issues you raise. However, my rebuttal would be that simply getting Term Limits and Stock Trading Ban implemented within the government will be a momentous day for accountability and a brighter future. Once these are passed and implemented, I believe we could start getting into the nitty-gritty.
I say all this because I truly believe that the country cannot take much more years of this advanced corrpution. We need these leaders, who have been in office for decades, to be ousted as soon as possible.