Five Things the 120th Congress Must Do

As a constituent, I ask you to make five priorities central to your work over the remaining two years of this administration. Each affects Americans across party lines. First, lobbying and ethics reform. Public trust in all three branches is low, in part because people believe officials profit from their positions. I urge you to support legislation banning members of Congress, senior executive officials, and federal judges from trading individual stocks and participating in prediction markets while in office, and requiring a blind trust for officials who hold significant assets. I also urge support for a constitutional amendment setting a mandatory retirement age of 75 for members of Congress, the President, and federal judges and justices. Finally, please pass the "Kushner rule," prohibiting officials from accepting foreign money while serving in government and for two years afterward. These reforms should be built on the case for structural change, not used to settle political scores. Corruption investigations will matter, but lasting reforms must apply to officials of every party and be written to prevent abuse regardless of who holds power. Second, raise the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. Please support a substantial increase, indexed to inflation, so that full-time work covers basic living costs. Third, restore congressional control over tariffs. Tariffs are a tax, and the Constitution gives Congress the power to lay and collect them. Please support legislation requiring congressional approval for new tariffs, limiting the scope and duration of tariffs imposed under emergency powers, and requiring public reporting on their economic effects. Fourth, fund health insurance. Rising premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs force many families to choose between coverage and other essentials. Please support funding that lowers premiums, expands affordable coverage, keeps existing subsidies in place, and reduces costs for families who buy their own insurance. Fifth, keep Social Security solvent. The trust fund is projected to be unable to pay full scheduled benefits in the early 2030s without congressional action. Please support reforms that close this shortfall while protecting current and near-retirees. One key step is raising or eliminating the earnings cap, the income level above which payroll taxes no longer apply. Thank you for your attention to these issues.