Search Documents and Resources

    • Mission and Vision
    • Board & Staff
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Donor Privacy Policy
    • Explore our work
    • Center for Defense Information
    • The Constitution Project
    • Congressional Oversight Initiative
    • Policy Letters
    • Reports
    • Testimony
    • For Oversight Staff
    • Whistleblower Resources
    • Report Corruption
  • Take Action
  • Sign Up
  • Donate
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
    • Mission and Vision
    • Board & Staff
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Donor Privacy Policy
    • Explore our work
    • Center for Defense Information
    • The Constitution Project
    • Congressional Oversight Initiative
    • Policy Letters
    • Reports
    • Testimony
    • For Oversight Staff
    • Whistleblower Resources
    • Report Corruption
Project On Government Oversight
  • Take Action
  • Sign Up
  • Donate
  • Afghanistan
  • More Topics
  • About
  • Mission & History
  • Board & Staff
  • Financials
  • Take Action
  • For Federal Employees
  • COVID-19: Tips
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
Project On Government Oversight
    • Mission and Vision
    • Board & Staff
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Donor Privacy Policy
    • Explore our work
    • Center for Defense Information
    • The Constitution Project
    • Congressional Oversight Initiative
    • Policy Letters
    • Reports
    • Testimony
    • For Oversight Staff
    • Whistleblower Resources
    • Report Corruption
  • Take Action
  • Sign Up
  • Donate
Release

POGO and NTU: Congress Should Not Settle for the Latest Stock Trading Bill

September 29, 2022

Media Contacts: 

Caitlin MacNeal, Communications Director at the Project On Government Oversight, [email protected]
Kevin Glass, Vice President of Communications and Outreach at National Taxpayers Union, [email protected]

(WASHINGTON) — Our organizations have worked together with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the hopes of enacting a robust, enforceable ban on Congressional stock trading into law. The Combatting Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government Act, draft legislation just released by House Administration Committee Democrats, falls woefully short.

The bill, crafted largely in secret, contains a significant loophole that would allow the federal government to approve weak blind trusts not only for members of Congress, but also for the executive and judicial branches. Allowing members of Congress to create trusts that only provide the appearance that they have given up control of their conflicting assets fails to meaningfully improve the congressional ethics program, and it will actively weaken the standards in the executive branch. Additionally, the bill lacks the airtight enforcement provisions necessary to ensure complete compliance with the newly proposed restrictions and give the public confidence that violations will not be tolerated.

It is because of our longstanding commitment to seeing a strong law on this issue that we regrettably cannot support this bill as written.

Congress should not settle for this legislation. The public should not settle for this legislation. There are already strong, bipartisan proposals in the House that would effectively prevent insider trading and mitigate conflicts of interest. We urge lawmakers to either spend a little extra time to get this bill right or to coalesce around a stronger, preexisting bill. The American taxpayers deserve legislation that will truly ensure their elected representatives do not operate with financial conflicts of interest, but instead legislate in the best interest of their constituents.

Related Tags

    Corruption Governance Ethics Congress Stock Trading Conflicts of Interest

Related Content

  • Ethics

    Reducing Personal Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government

  • Corruption

    Congress Can Earn Back Public Trust by Banning Stock Trading

  • Corruption

    Corruption is Public Enemy Number 1

  • Corruption

    POGO Leads Broad Coalition Calling for Congressional Action on Insider Trading

Site Footer

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • Press Center
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Briefing
  • Newsletters
  • Publications
  • Report Corruption
Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity CharityWatch Top Rated Charity Great Nonprofits 2021 Top-Rated Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity

©2023 POGO | Privacy Policy

Project On Government Oversight logo

Project On Government Oversight

Oversight in your inbox.