There's nothing that irritates Americans more than the fact that some members of Congress think they are entitled to their own set of rules. And it's true - too many people in Washington live in a alternate reality. It's time for that to stop.

Recently I spent an entire week at home, meeting with local groups and constituents to listen to input and ideas. At those meetings, I introduced a package of new congressional reforms that will bring additional layers of accountability to Congress while forcing members to do their part to address the budget crisis.

The goals of the reform package are to:

• End annual automatic Congressional pay raises
• Create an independent watchdog for the Senate
• Reform government-paid foreign travel and publicize details of trips
• Return 10 percent of office funds to the United States Treasury to help pay down our deficit

I had a chance to discuss these new reform items with Missourians at town hall meetings in Franklin County, Columbia and Blue Springs, but I know that everyone didn't have the opportunity to attend the town halls. So we created a website that explains my initiatives and give you the opportunity to call, write, e-mail, Facebook or tweet your comments and ideas directly to me.

I hope to hear from you soon.
  

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Office of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill
United States Senate
Hart Senate Office Building, Ste. 506
Washington, D.C. 20510

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Cape Girardeau Phone 573-651-0964	Columbia Phone 573-442-7130
Kansas City Phone 816-421-1639	Springfield Phone 417-868-8745
St. Louis Phone 314-367-1364	Washington D.C. Phone 202-224-6154

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New accountability for Congress

Creating an independent watchdog for the Senate

I am introducing legislation that would create an independent non-partisan watchdog to investigate, audit, and review Senate operations. The purpose of the Senate Inspector General would be to help identify waste and inefficiencies in the upper chamber of the legislative branch, and report the findings to the full Senate. The watchdog position would add a common sense layer of non-partisan accountability currently lacking in the Senate.

Reforming government-paid foreign travel

I am introducing a bill to establish common sense rules for government-paid foreign travel undertaken by members of Congress. By putting in place new restrictions and making the process fully transparent, mylegislation will crack down on a lax system that has led to abuses in the past. Currently the government cannot account for the amount of money spent each year on congressional foreign travel and has limited or no public disclosure of trips taken, destinations, the number of travelers, or even the total cost.

Specifically, this part of the proposal would:

Require members to complete detailed pre- and post-travel reports which include more information on the purpose of travel, attendees, total costs (including per diem amounts spent and travel costs borne by executive agencies), and justification for any staff members accompanying their travel;

Require foreign travel expenditures be subject to the normal Congressional appropriation process;

Require members and authorizing officials to make post-travel reports publicly available on their respective websites;

Require members and their staff to use coach or economy class for any flights under 14-hours, and

Authorize the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on how much executive branch agencies spend on Congressional foreign travel.

For some examples of egregious Congressional travel click here and here and here.

Doing our part to address the budget crisis

End annual automatic Congressional pay raises

Since most Missourians can't count on an annual raise, I'm focusing on ending the automatic pay bump that members of Congress currently receive every year. In recent years, Congress passed individual bills to eliminate the pay raise for 2010 and 2011, but those bills did not permanently remove the automatic pay raise. Missouri common sense says members of Congress should start living like other Americans, while sacrificing their raises to help address the deficit.

Return 10 percent of office funds to the Treasury to help pay down our debt

Members of Congress are allocated funding for their office each year, but I've returned at least 10 percent of my funds each year since I was elected. In an effort to keep my office budget as low as possible, I've emphasized doing more with less. As a result, I have had significant funding left over at the end of each fiscal year, which I returned to the Senate. I'm pushing common sense legislation that will allow members to designate leftover funds directly to the Treasury to help pay down the deficit.

Past Efforts and Victories

Stopping Secret Holds

Because I believe that public officials should be forthcoming about their actions, I spent much of 2010 pressuring members of the Senate to stop the practice of anonymously blocking Senate business through "secret holds." In January, after gathering the support of enough senators, the Senate successfully voted to restrict secret holds and prevent abuse of this practice.

Opening up Senate business to the public

Since 2007, I've worked to keep Senate hearings open to the public, except in rare situations in which classified information is discussed. Along with Sen. John McCain, I've tried to stop the Senate Armed Services Committee from shutting the public out of their meetings. In 2009, I successfully pushed Senate leadership to keep health care reform negotiations open to the public via C-SPAN.

Creating more bipartisan atmosphere

Missourians want Congress to work together, rather than continue partisan attacks. That's why in 2007 I convinced the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to seat members at hearings in a bipartisan fashion. Better communication between members, regardless of party, helps facilitate progress.