Stock Trading Everywhere All at Once:
Public Servants & Financial Conflicts

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the federal law requiring officials in all three branches of government to disclose stock ownership. The law was intended to increase public confidence and trust in government – but that hasn’t happened. Instead, the public remains unable to trust that their interests are being prioritized as public officials in Congress, executive branch agencies and the courts continue trading stocks connected to their official duties. 
 

This lack of trust stems from perceived conflicts of interest, a problem which persists across government: reporting shows that at least 15 lawmakers overseeing defense policy are invested in military contractors, numerous senior officials of at least 4 agencies traded stocks in companies connected to their official duties and 61 judges traded stock of companies while they had cases before them. 
 

How to address this continued distrust and what steps must be taken to assure the public that these officials are prioritizing public good over personal financial interest remains an active debate in Washington. Some solutions that altogether ban stock ownership by officials are criticized as being too extreme, while other proposals introduce loopholes that swallow the rules. Some branches of government, meanwhile, have so few ethics rules that many wonder where new reforms would fit in. One thing is clear, however: without a serious response to this problematic trend, voters will question whether officials are acting to serve the people or their own wallets. 

At 1:00 PM Eastern next Thursday, April 20th, join Campaign Legal Center for a virtual event featuring some of the field's top lawyers and journalists to discuss this very topic. Moderated by Kedric Payne, CLC's Vice President, General Counsel and Senior Director for Ethics, our panel will feature CLC Legal Counsel for Ethics, Danielle Caputo alongside Gabe Lezra of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) as well as Wall Street Journal reporters Rebecca Ballhaus, Brody Mullins and Joe Palazzolo, who have been expertly covering the topic for years.