Post on 08-May-2015
The STOCK Act of 2012 and the
Purposes of Transparency
Kathleen Clark
Chicago-Kent College of LawApril 30, 2013
STOCK Act of 2012 Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge
Purpose“prevent
members and employees of Congress
from trading on the basis of nonpublic information
acquired through such positions”
60 Minutes
Insider Tradingby
Members of Congress
STOCK Act of 2012
scandal
êethics regulation
Insider TradingAlready Illegal
Role of
Transparency in
Government Ethics
Different legal rules for
legislative &
executive branches
Federal Conflict of Interest Statute
Applies to Executive Branch Not to Congress
Federal Financial Disclosure
AssetsIncome
TransactionsLiabilities
Gifts Outside / Future Jobs
Federal Financial Disclosure
Congress: Members & senior staffExecutive branch: 28,000 employees
Federal Financial Disclosure
28,000 - Publicly available -- but with hurdles
300,000 – Not publicly available
Specific Reforms:
Timely transaction reportsSearchable sortable database of• Congress:
-Members-Highly paid staff
• 28,000 Exec. branch employees
Purposes of federal
financial discosure
Accountability: - political – Congress - legal - Executive Branch
Purposes of massive online
financial discosure
Accountability: - political - legal - Executive BranchPreventing theftTransparency
Public disclosure – with hurdles
v.
Web-based disclosuresearchable & sortable
Controversial
- Politically
- Legally
Concerns
• Identity theft
• Identifying spies
•Privacy
Senior Executive
Association v.
United States
Sensitive
Personal
Financial
Information
S.E.A. v U.S.
Granted preliminary injunction
Denied govt’s motion to dismiss
Revised Gutted (?)
STOCK Act
Web-based disclosure for: - Members of Congress - Senate-confirmed executive branch officialsNo searchable sortable database
The STOCK Act of 2012 and the
Purposes of Transparency
Kathleen Clark
kathleen_clark@mac.com
Chicago-Kent College of LawApril 30, 2013