Honest, Accountable, Transparent: The Begich Ethics Plan

I'll have video shortly, but today Mark Begich unveiled his ethics plan, as well as a strong ethics pledge.

You can read Mark's five-point ethics pledge here, but I wanted to be sure that Begich Blog readers see it up front:

1. Make financial records open, detailed, and easily accessible: Mark Begich won’t wait for Congress to shed more sunshine on senator’s finances and campaign funding. He will voluntarily post his financial disclosure form on his Senate website. He will show – to the dollar – his income and that of his spouse. He will make these disclosures available permanently and in a format that Alaskans can easily search.
2. Ban secret meetings, secret earmarks, and hidden connections: From day one, Mark will post his daily Senate office schedule on his website so every Alaskan knows he is working for Alaska families, not special interests. Mark will make public every earmark he seeks and those requested of him formally or informally, and who it will benefit; and, he will post on his website any family member or former staff person that is lobbying Congress. To close the revolving door between lobbyists and staff, Mark will ban any former staff person from lobbying his office on any issue.
3. Stop special Senate privileges and protections: Over the last 10 years, senators have received 8 pay raises and yet have only increased minimum wage one time. Mark won’t support automatic pay raises. He will insist that they are voted on out in the open. When a pay raise vote does come up, he will not support it unless there is an increase to the minimum wage first. He will also push for an Office of Public Integrity that brings citizen ethics oversight to the Senate.
4. Provide timely and complete campaign records: Currently, both presidential and House candidates are required to file their FEC reports electronically, but the Senate has exempted itself. Mark will push the Senate to also file electronically, but will voluntarily file his FEC reports electronically.
5. Give Alaskans straight answers and more access: Mark Begich is always an open book. He will give Alaskans straight answers, not hide behind high-priced lawyers or the Senate Ethics Committee. Mark will bring the same openness and citizen participation he offered as mayor to his Senate office.

That's how Mark Begich will act from Day One as a U.S. Senator and he's making the commitment now as a candidate.

But today isn't just about a pledge. Mark is putting forward a detailed and comprehensive ethics plan that identifies nine major areas of concern and finds solutions that will benefit Alaskan families and everyone around America. You can read Mark Begich's ethics plan here.

Also, we have posted Mark's personal financial disclosures going back to 1988. It covers his time in the Anchorage Assembly, his years as Mayor of Anchorage, and now as a U.S. Senate candidate. It even includes years where he wasn't serving in elected office. Begich is offering full disclosure - anyone can read and download all of Mark's financial disclosures on our website. You'll see the "Full Disclosure" box in the right sidebar of this page. Actually it's on the sidebar of every single page on this website, meaning Alaskans will be able to find Mark's financial records no matter where they look.