OPINION

Despite promises to drain the swamp from both sides, Washington is filled with greed. It's time to clean this mess up. No more looking the other way.

Ben Sasse | Opinion contributor

In 2016, Republicans promised to “drain the swamp.” Two years later, not only is the swamp still here — it's gotten swampier.

In the last 18 months alone, revelations of corruption have forced high-profile investigations and resignations across the government.

Two Republican congressman were indicted — one for insider trading, the other for using campaign funds to bankroll his family's lifestyle. The president's campaign manager and personal attorney face felony convictions.

Naturally, Democrats are wagging their fingers and decrying Washington’s "culture of corruption." But these are the same Democrats who said nothing while Hillary Clinton used her position as Secretary of State to enrich herself and her family. In fact, they didn't just look the other way — they went ahead made her their nominee for president.

So, for those keeping score at home, here’s the sad state of things: The folks who in 2016 didn't care about draining the swamp are clamoring about it now, while the folks who promised to drain the swamp have conveniently forgotten about it. This always happens. Everyone talks about draining the swamp, but nobody does it.

It's time to drain the swamp once-and-for-all

It’s time to drain the swamp — for real. Today I’m introducing a series of bills that will help do just that.

Here’s what you’ll see:

► We’re going to prohibit Cabinet members and their immediate family from soliciting donations from foreign sources. If you hold one of the highest and most sensitive positions in the executive branch, there should not be any question about who you’re working for. There should not be any temptation to exploit your office for financial gain. No more Clintons using high office to line their own pockets.

► We’re going to require that presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ tax returns are disclosed. In 2016, Donald Trump became the first major party nominee in modern American history not to release his tax returns. He spent the campaign claiming he was going to release them, and then the moment he was elected he declared that “nobody cares” and moved on. Every presidential nominee prior to 2016 understood that voters deserve basic information about the financial situation of their potential chief executive. We’re going to make sure they can get it.

► We’re going to create a public database of congressional HR settlements, make disclosure quicker, and increase personal financial liability for members of congress. When a congressman or senator settles a personnel issue — whether the issue is harassment, discrimination, or some other misconduct — basic information about that settlement ought to be immediately available, with victims first having the opportunity to protect their identities through redaction. Members need to pay settlements out of their own pockets and need to reimburse the taxpayer-funded Office of Compliance for administrative costs too. In the era of #MeToo, voters should be able to expect transparency from their representatives when accusations of improper conduct are settled. At the end of the day, giving constituents information is the best way to make sure that elected representatives are held accountable.

We're going stop feeding the swamp creatures

► We’re going to prevent members of Congress from abusing their access to information and influence, by prohibiting them from buying or selling stocks during their time in office. Voters should not have to ask whether their congressman supported a piece of legislation because it was good for his personal investment portfolio. Prohibiting them from buying and selling stocks is an easy way to cut down on that temptation. Members of Congress are supposed to do what's best for their constituents, not their 401K.

► Finally, we’re going to put a stopper in D.C.’s infamous Revolving Door with a lifetime ban on members of Congress making money lobbying. One principle of our small-r republican government is that we have citizen-representatives, not a permanent class of political elites. But in Washington today, we have a legislator-to-lobbyist pipeline, and that’s cutting out the input of constituents and others who can’t, or refuse to, pay to play. Getting elected to the U.S. Congress should be an opportunity to serve your constituents and the country, not a stepping-stone to a cushy job on K Street.

Washington, D.C., is full of officials from both parties who are more interested in protecting their positions — and growing their pocketbooks — than in carrying out their constitutional responsibilities. We don’t have statesmen and stateswomen; we have swamp creatures. My plan is going to make a lot of people in both parties angry. That’s fine by me. Frankly, that’s the only way this gets done. No more partisan finger-pointing, no more sacred cows, no more agreeing to look the other way.

It’s time to start cleaning up this mess. We need a Congress that debates the big issues. We need an executive branch that offers a constructive vision for the country’s future. We need public servants that serve the public.

We need to drain the swamp.