Keith Fitzgerald makes 'pledge' to restore trust in government

Keith Fitzgerald, who has pegged his race for Congress in large part by raising questions about the honesty and ethics of incumbent Vern Buchanan, has unveiled a "Pledge to the Citizens of Florida and the United States to restore trust and transparency in government and reduce the deficit."

Among the specific promises Fitzgerald is making is to sponsor legislation that would require members of Congress to divest most individual investments.

That is perhaps a swipe at Buchanan, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and currently the subject of a House Ethics Committee review of charges that he withheld certain business positions and income from his financial disclosure filings. (The Justice Department also is investigating Buchanan's campaign fundraising, according to his attorneys.)

Among other promises are pledges to never work as a lobbyist, to make his official schedules available in real time for public review, to grant the president a line-item veto and to ban congressional earmarks.

“For too long, we have seen that Congress is held hostage by special interests who pledge to protect corporate special interests over the interests of their constituents," Fitzgerald said in a statement.  "Today, I am making public a pledge to the citizens of my district, this state, our country in order to restore trust in our government. I am going to work every day to change the culture of Congress and this specific and sincere pledge will be my guide.”

Read all of Fitzgerald's pledge here.