ATLANTA (AP) - Democrat Michelle Nunn said Wednesday that if she’s elected to Georgia’s open U.S. Senate seat that she would introduce legislation implementing a lifetime ban on members of Congress from becoming registered lobbyists, pledging she’ll never become a lobbyist.
The proposal was among a handful of what she called “good government” policy reforms that she plans to campaign on. Nunn, the former CEO of a Points of Light, a major volunteer organization, is the most prominent Democrat running to replace Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss who’s retiring at the end of the year.
“They are all ideas for making Congress work for Georgians and people across the nation,” Nunn said in an interview. “As I go around the state, there is so much frustration about the polarization and dysfunction in Washington, and I want to actually propose a set of ideas to start a conversation to address that.”
Nunn is the daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, a moderate Democrat who represented Georgia for 24 years.
Nunn’s other proposals included legislation to block lawmakers and the president from receiving a paycheck if an annual budget isn’t passed. That’s similar to former Secretary of State Karen Handel, who called on Congress to return their pay during last year’s government shutdown.
Handel is among a crowded field of Republicans in the Senate race, including U.S. Reps. Paul Broun of Athens, Phil Gingrey of Marietta and Jack Kingston of Savannah and former Dollar General CEO David Perdue.
Nunn also proposed a requirement that each piece of federal legislation include a coast estimate at the time of introduction, pledged to meet with every senator in her first year if elected and expressed support for a constitutional amendment limiting special interest money in elections.
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