Obama promises vast ethics reforms

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) vowed Friday to initiate the country’s “most sweeping ethics reform” on the day he takes office.

{mosads}“When I am president, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer or your bank account — it’s about serving your country, and that’s what comes first, ” Obama said in Manchester, N.H.

Obama outlined a plan that he said he hopes will curtail the influence of lobbyists. The Illinois senator proposes to curb the abuse of no-bid contracts, put in place a gift ban, increase transparency in government and hire people based on their qualification and not their ideology.

“It’s time to renew a people’s politics in this country — to ensure that the hopes and concerns of average Americans speak louder in Washington than the hallway whispers of high-priced lobbyists,” Obama said.

He promised to give Americans time to review non-emergency bills submitted for his signature.

“When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it,” Obama pledged. “When there are meetings between lobbyists and a government agency, we won’t be going to the Supreme Court to keep it secret like Dick Cheney and his energy task force; we’ll be putting them up on the Internet for every American to watch.”