The United States Congress is sick—but there is a remedy. Change the incentives. Change the culture. Change the way Washington does business. But how?

Congress isn’t broken because its members are uniquely corrupt or inept. It’s broken because the system rewards destructive, inefficient, and antidemocratic behavior at every turn. Representatives quickly learn that survival and advancement in Washington depend on outrage, party loyalty, and constant campaigning—not honesty, cooperation, or results. The outcome is a race to the bottom in which big-money donors and lobbyists exert outsized influence, misinformation flourishes, and any genuine attempt at bipartisan problem-solving is punished. Too often, the institution charged with representing the American people abandons its responsibility altogether.

The Integrity Pledge offers a clear-eyed diagnosis of this dysfunction—and a practical way forward. Built around eight common-sense pillars of integrity, the Pledge establishes a shared standard for public leadership, backed by real accountability through citizen action. By encouraging candidates and lawmakers to commit publicly to the eight Integrity principles, the Pledge helps reset expectations in Washington. It shifts incentives away from dishonesty, spectacle, and reflexive partisanship, and toward curiosity, collaboration, respect, and solution-based representation. This is not a partisan manifesto or a utopian fantasy. It is a framework for aligning lawmakers’ self-interest with effective public service.

Democracy doesn’t heal itself. We the People must empower our representatives to become the kind of leaders we expect—so Congress can return to the serious work of governing on behalf of the American people. Take this Pledge to your representatives and ask them to commit publicly to integrity, honesty, and effective service.

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