Republican proposes ban on lawmakers asking for donations

Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) may be running in one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. But he doesn’t want any member of Congress to keep asking for money anymore.

Jolly, who was elected to the House two years ago, on Tuesday rolled out legislation that would ban lawmakers from personally soliciting campaign donations. They could, however, still speak to donors and attend fundraisers. 

In a campaign-produced video explaining his proposal, Jolly suggested that eliminating fundraising duties from lawmakers’ schedules would free up time to focus on legislative priorities. 

{mosads}“We can’t have a part-time Congress in a full-time world,” Jolly said.

“No member of Congress will be allowed to ask you for money, so they can focus on the job you sent them to do.”

Jolly is in the midst of a four-way GOP primary to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is running for president.

The second-term lawmaker told the Associated Press that he plans to follow the parameters of his proposal while campaigning for Senate. Jolly said he won’t call donors asking for money or sign his name to any fundraising missives, instead leaving money-related duties to his staff.

Many current and former members of Congress have complained about the extended amount of time they had to spend asking for money.

Just three days after announcing his retirement this month, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) penned a scathing New York Times op-ed lamenting the prioritization of dialing for dollars.

Israel, a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, estimated that he’d attended more than 1,600 fundraisers for his own reelection and spent 4,200 hours calling donors.

“My new ‘call time’ will be spent waiting for a customer service agent to help me decipher a cable bill. Even that will be more pleasant,” Israel wrote.

Jolly has proposed legislation aiming to reform Capitol Hill culture in the past. Last year, he introduced a bill that would require the House to be in session for at least 40 hours per week while lawmakers are in Washington to resemble a typical American workweek. The measure has not accumulated any co-sponsors.