Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) is calling on Congress to confront a growing concern: cognitive decline among elected officials. In a failed amendment to a House Appropriations bill, Gluesenkamp Perez proposed that the Office of Congressional Conduct develop standards to evaluate whether lawmakers are impaired by "significant, irreversible cognitive impairment" and unable to perform their duties.
The proposal, which would have allowed for ethics investigations in such cases, was overwhelmingly voted down in a voice vote, highlighting the sensitivity of the issue in Congress, as Axios explains. Despite the rejection, Gluesenkamp Perez said she intends to continue pushing for reforms. "There is a profound erosion in trust in government," she told the news site. "People want systemic reform. They want accountability."
