Barbara Lee Sworn In as Democrats Kick Off 100 Hour “New Direction” Agenda with Ethics Reform
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was sworn in today as the 110th Congress began as Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) took the gavel as the nation’s first female Speaker and the Democratic Party assumed control of the House of Representatives after twelve years in the minority, opening a bold 100 hour reform agenda with an aggressive ethics reform package.
“Today is a new day, both for Congress and for our nation,” said Lee. “The voters asked for a new direction in November, and we intend to deliver, so I am proud that my first vote in the 110th Congress is to turn the page on the Republican era of corruption and make this the most ethical Congress in history, where hard working people come first and wealthy corporations come last.”
Lee congratulated Pelosi on assuming the role of speaker and for her work to help Democrats win the majority. “I salute my friend and Bay Area colleague on breaking another glass ceiling and becoming the nation’s first female Speaker of the House. Her tireless efforts helped Democrats retake the majority and I look forward to working with her to fulfill the voters’ call for a new direction,” said Lee.
The Democratic ethics reform package includes a ban on gifts from lobbyists and travel sponsored by lobbyists or groups that employ them. The package ends the Republican practice of holding House votes open in order to influence the outcome, and requires the full disclosure of all earmarks and the members who requested them. It also ends “pay-to-play” schemes like the “K Street Project” in which Republicans told lobbying firms who to hire in exchange for political access, and includes “pay-as-you-go” budget rules designed to implement fiscal and budgetary responsibility stop any new deficit spending.
Earlier in the day, Lee was sworn in as the First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, where she served as Whip in the 109th Congress. She is also expected to remain as the Co-Chair, along with Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and she will continue to serve as a Senior Democratic Whip.
In December, Lee was named to the House Appropriations Committee, the panel that controls the federal purse strings and is widely viewed as one of the most powerful in Congress. Today, she was appointed to the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee, the Foreign Operations Subcommittee and the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.
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