1115.org

One of the bills that has languished in Congress while members campaigned, went on vacation and spent time debating more tax cuts and banning gay marriage, was the “9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act” which codifies the findings of the 9/11 Commission in an attempt to prevent another large domestic terror attack.

As is normal procedure unrelated amendments have been attached in an attempt to obscure a potentially controversial provision:

…to repeal the requirement that senior-level officials report their personal financial assets valued at more than $2.5 million. It also would end the practice of disclosing the dates of stock transactions.

In case it is not immediately clear why financial disclosure is necessary for government officials, consider this:

In 2002, the Center for Public Integrity revealed that 22 of the top 100 Bush administration officials had “significant” holdings in companies that had lobbied their departments, agencies or offices.

Yippee! We’re only 22% corrupt!

One of the benefits of being the downtrodden minority party is watching the Republicans trot out a back-bench Congressman to explain why the latest piece of corrosive legislation is actually good for everyone:

Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.) said that streamlining the financial disclosure rules for top members of the intelligence community would improve the presidential appointments process and help attract candidates who might not otherwise apply.

So the official Republican position seems to be: We need to attract more people to government who would rather keep their financial dealings secret than work in the public sector.

With a little bit of elbow grease, we can at least double that 22% corruption rate.