Mike Braun, Rick Scott Propose Permanent Lobbying Ban for Former Lawmakers

Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced a bill on Friday that would prevent former lawmakers from using their influence on Capitol Hill from lobbying.

Braun and Scott introduced the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act, that would block former lawmakers from lobbying their friends on Capitol Hill. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) introduced the companion legislation in the House.

“One of the reasons I left the private sector for Washington was to help President Trump drain the swamp, and we can accomplish this by permanently banning Congressmen and Senators from lobbying Capitol Hill,” said Braun in a statement on Friday. “Together we can end the revolving door of career politicians coming to Washington, spending time in Congress, then enriching themselves from their service to the American people.”   

Sen. Scott said:

I’m proud to introduce this bill that imposes a permanent ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists. Rather than serving the public, too many in Washington spend their political careers preparing for a lucrative job at a DC lobbying firm where they can cash in on their connections and their access. Congress should  never serve as a training ground for future lobbyists, and putting an end to the revolving door is a common sense way to make Washington work for families.

The legislation serves as the latest legislation the two freshman Republican senators have proposed to both improve governance on Capitol Hill and drain the Washington, D.C. swamp.

Braun and Scott introduced legislation in February that would end taxpayer-funded congressional pensions; the two contending that the bill would drain the Washington swamp.

Sens. Scott and Braun noted in a press release that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been in Congress for 33 years, and if she retired tomorrow, her annual taxpayer-funded pension would be over $102,000.

Braun said in February, “If we remove the luxurious perks from Congress, we’ll get better leaders: that’s why I’ll never accept my Senate pension and, if forced to, I pledge to donate every penny to Hoosier charities.”

The Hoosier senator, who came to Washington as a populist politician, introduced a bill in January that would block any lawmaker from receiving a paycheck if Congress does not pass a budget. 

Hoosier told Breitbart News about the No Budget, No Pay bill:

When I decided to run, I also decided to sign the term limits bill. I signed a pledge as a senator, and I’ll be forthright here: we don’t send the cream of the crop to D.C., and I said that many times and that’s because most people that have really done something in the real world are not going to give up that to build a career in politics.

“I think that if you take the money out of it, you certainly get a better average individual coming here in Congress and certainly here in the Senate if you had term limits,” Braun said.