Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Al Franken of Minnesota have introduced the Close the Revolving Door Act of 2015 that would ban former members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists....

Bennet previously introduced the bill in 2010 and has committed himself to reintroducing it in every subsequent Congress until it becomes law.

According to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics, about 45 percent of former members of the 113th Congress who are currently employed work for lobbying firms. Around 12,000 registered federal lobbyists were active in Washington in 2014.

"The revolving door between Congress and the lobbying industry is a problem that needs fixing, because our democracy can't function the way it's supposed to when big interests have more power than the American people," Franken said. "Our legislation would put in place much-needed reforms-by not only banning members of Congress from becoming lobbyists, but also by making the industry become more accountable and transparent."