Rep. Emilia Sykes Fighting Corruption with New Bill to Prevent Politicians from Abusing Their Offices

Sykes’ “Closing Bribery Loopholes Act” targets corruption by expanding the definition of “bribery” to fight back against corrupt politicians

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes introduced a bill to close bribery loopholes and prevent corrupt politicians from abusing their offices.

Sykes’ Closing Bribery Loopholes Act will allow law enforcement to better target politicians who use their offices for personal gain – a key step in preventing instances of corruption like the FirstEnergy bribery scheme, the largest corruption scandal in state history that is estimated to cost Ohio taxpayers $700 million.

Sykes also helped introduce legislation to block corporate executives convicted of financial crimes from serving in the executive branch, and a bipartisan bill to ban members of Congress and their spouses and children from trading stocks. 

As a reminder: while Rep. Sykes is working to root out corruption and the influence of lobbyists, Kevin Coughlin is a shady lobbyist who profited off of his career in elected office.

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Cleveland.com: U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes introduces bill to expand bribery definition after Ohio scandal

• Claiming that corruption has become commonplace in the nation’s capital, a group of Democratic U.S. Representatives including Akron’s Emilia Sykes introduced legislation yesterday that they said would keep elected and non-elected officials from using their offices for profit.
• “One of the biggest problems with corruption is that it evolves,” Sykes said at a Wednesday press conference at the U.S. Capitol. “Winks and nods can turn into billion dollar energy bills. Firm handshakes can mask extortion, and because the people pulling the levers of power are the most susceptible to corrupt influence, it is incumbent upon us as lawmakers to hold the line.”
• Sykes’ “Closing Bribery Loopholes Act” was among a half dozen anti-corruption bills that Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced Wednesday.
• Her measure would clarify the definition of “official act,” to include more than just legislative actions, such as casting votes or influencing policy language. It would expand the definition to include anything that is done by someone in their capacity as a public official, such as hosting promotional events on publicly owned property. Under this expanded definition, performing these official acts for private gain would be defined as bribery.
• In introducing the bill, she noted that Ohio has had several high-profile corruption cases, including the 2023 racketeering conviction of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in a bribery scheme prosecutors say was engineered to pass a $1.3 billion bailout of nuclear power plants owned by a subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.
• “The American people deserve a government that works for them, just them, not for those with the biggest wallets or the largest connections,” Sykes said.
• Other initiatives introduced as part of the legislators’ “End Corruption Now” campaign were bills that would place a lifetime ban on Congress members serving as lobbyists, block Congress members from serving on corporate boards, bar chief executive officers convicted of financial crimes from serving in the executive branch, and would ban Congress members, their spouses and dependent children from trading individual stocks.

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