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Should dual citizens in Congress and other public offices be required to disclose their citizenship status?

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Just imagine if athletes on professional sports teams played on two teams at the same time.

This would result in conflicting loyalties. That player would only be able to give half their effort for each team instead of giving 100% for one team.

The U.S. Congress members and Senators do not have a dual citizen disclosure requirement and therefore, the American People can’t know where their loyalty resides.

As with professional athletes, the reason we need to know where they stand is not because we hold prejudice, but because there are serious conflicts of interests that may impact decision-making.

Similarly, if an individual in a position of public service has taken a secret oath that supersedes their oath to the American People and our Constitution, the important question of loyalty remains unanswered.


 

Dual Citizens in Congress? We Need to Know; The Problem of Dual Citizenship

December 10, 2018 | By L. Michael Hager | Foreign Policy Journal |

“It’s important for citizens to know if their representatives have dual citizenship because both real and apparent conflicts of interest erode public trust.”

“So why is it important for citizens to know if any of their representatives in Congress is a dual citizen? Because both real and apparent conflicts of interest erode the public trust. When a Member of Congress speaks out in support of a policy that favors a country in which he or she holds citizenship, the public should be able to assess which loyalty motivates the speech…”

“The Congressional Research Service (CRS) maintains a detailed personal profile on each Member of Congress that includes age, political party, past occupations, education, religion, gender, ethnicity and military service.

If CRS would simply add “citizenship” to its list of profile categories, Americans could better judge where their representatives are coming from when they take a public stand on a foreign policy issue affecting a country where they have a citizenship tie. Such exposure would also help eliminate corrupting conflicts of interest.

Link To Full Article_Foreign Policy Journal

Link To CRS Membership Profiles 2022

 


 

Dual Citizens in Congress? We Need to Know; The Problem of Dual Citizenship

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