Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a freshman representative elected in 2022, is already taking action to beat back the self-serving nature of Congress, introducing a bill that, if passed, would end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
Specifically, Rep. Nunn introduced legislation that would fully repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress every year, which is supposed to take effect automatically every year. The congressman’s bill differs from previous legislation to suspend automatic pay raises in that it doesn’t just pause the pay level, which has stayed the same since 2009 but would fully repeal the law.
Breitbart reports that Congressional pay levels have stayed “the same since 2009, as numerous pieces of legislation denied the scheduled annual adjustments over the years, with the last ones — House-reported (H.R. 8237) and Senate-introduced (S. 4720) — freezing the annual adjustments until 2023.” Rep. Nunn’s bill would end the charge and stop the automatic pay raises entirely instead of requiring continual bills that pause the automatic pay raises.
That’s not all Rep. Nunn, a combat veteran, has done to fight Congressional self-dealing. He’s also supported the bill that would end Congressional insider trading. Describing what the bill does and why he supports it, a press release from his office says:
Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03), along with Representative Greg Stanton (AZ-4), today announced a new bipartisan bill to ban congressional stock trading for Members of Congress. The Prohibit Insider Trading Act would prevent Members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks. Members found in violation would be subject to a civil fine of up to $50,000. Additionally, any profit related to the trades would be returned to the American people via the U.S. Treasury.
“I’ve prioritized service over self my entire life – first in the Air Force, then as a state legislator, and now as a member of Congress. The top priority of civil servants should be serving the American people, not making personal profit,” said Rep. Nunn. “I believe Iowans should have open, transparent, and honest representation without conflicts of interest getting in the way. This isn’t a partisan issue—this is a way to stop corruption in politics that has unfortunately become all too common.”
Rep. Nunn also announced a bill that would fight China’s growing global influence, as his office also announced in a press release, saying:
Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) introduced a bill to counter Chinese efforts to expand the global influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Neutralizing Unfair Chinese Subsidies Act of 2023 would require the Administration to take action to combat the CCP’s efforts to buy global influence by offering developing nations predatory credit lines used to build shoddy and dangerous infrastructure projects.
“The best time to combat China was yesterday because the biggest threat we face from them is not militarily—it’s their tactful drain on our trade, jobs, and profit through predatory economic practices and theft of intellectual property,” said Rep. Nunn. “This bill would combat China’s efforts to expand the global influence of the Chinese Communist Party and level the playing field for American exports.”
China has become the world’s largest provider of government-backed credit globally. The CCP’s dangerously cheap and predatory infrastructure aid, through the use of export credit subsidies, is designed to buy global influence, undercut other countries’ legitimate exports and distort international trade markets. This strategy is the foundation of the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has burdened developing nations with billions of dollars in debt they cannot repay and shoddy infrastructure that will require an untold amount of money to repair.
Specifically, the Neutralizing Unfair Chinese Subsidies Act of 2023 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a strategy to combat these dangerous and destabilizing Chinese credit practices by ensuring China’s compliance with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, which is a multi-national agreement that provides developing nations with certainty and transparency while preventing predatory lending practices.
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