Stricter laws can help end corruption

Last Monday, former Arizona congressman Rick Renzi was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted in June for federal corruption charges.

The charges follow Renzi’s conviction on charges of extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering related to a 2005 money laundering scheme that cost the Republican more than $700,000 in charges. But this situation is not unique to the Republican party — in fact, corruption runs rampant within the United States’ entire political system and it is absolutely imperative that citizens demand an end to the dishonesty.

Renzi’s lawyers hoped to prevent the ex-congressman’s prosecution on the grounds that it would violate the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, a privilege reserved for lawmakers that protects them and their staff from legal action over “legislative” acts. Evidence that surfaced during the 24-day trial found that Renzi promised to use his legislative influence as a representative of Arizona’s 1st Congressional District to profit from a federal land exchange. Renzi was also accused of misappropriating money from his family insurance business to fund his campaigns and for personal benefit. Clauses such as this one help congressmen forge excuses for their lies.

The clause states that members of both Houses of Congress “shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.”

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel deemed this clause does not exempt congressmen from their responsibility.

Following Renzi’s fiasco, Melvin E. Lowe, the former political aide to John Sampson, a former Democratic leader in the state Senate, was arrested on federal corruption charges last Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

It is an unfortunate fact that political corruption has become not only relatively common but also expected. It seems that it might take a supercitizen to resist the temptations that are part of the legislative job.

Legislators cannot continue to vote down the tightening of finance rules — it is these rules that discourage corruption.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s case last year of Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission cleared the way for corporations to make unlimited donations, which has given them a tremendous role in the decisions of U.S. legislators. This corruption crosses an ethical line. It goes beyond skewed voting and large party donations. It can lead politicians in office to steer away from their foremost priority of the public’s interest. Instead, this causes public interest to come second and decisions to revolve around benefitting those who fund them, often including themselves as the Renzi and Lowe cases show.

And though some corruption is inevitable in any political system, there is no excuse for lawmakers to justify this behavior by exhibiting lenience in handling these cases. When greediness starts to control the moral compasses of our political representatives, there is an obvious problem. Detailed laws need to be created and enforced to prevent these corrupt representatives from being able to hire lawyers to find loopholes that allow representatives to walk away without consequence.

The only way to end this political corruption is to hold politicians accountable for their actions. Greater regulations need to be put in place to force representatives to act openly. Only when this happens can trust be restored between the public and the government. Transparency in government actions also allows the public to make informed voting decisions and to hold officials accountable once elected.

One way that the United States can currently minimize corruption is the Secrecy Report. This annual report analyzes the freedom of information in the United States based on new legislations and infrastructures that allow for measuring progress or stagnation.

If this method were applied across the board to include a broader number of government officials, such as state representatives, this could be a step in the right direction. Doing so would increase trust and promote a positive relationship between government and the American people.

The regularity and acceptance of political corruption in the United States is incredibly ironic for a country that prides itself on fairness and freedom. The U.S. political system cannot continue to serve as a role model without fixing this increasingly apparent fracture in its foundation.

Caroline Kamerschen is an undecided sophomore.

Follow Caroline on Twitter @c_kamm