ABA Entities Urge Congress to Exclude Career Federal Employees From Stock Act

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 6, 2012 — Four entities within the American Bar Association (the Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division and the Sections of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, Public Contract Law, and International Law) submitted comments to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Dec. 4 urging prompt repeal of those aspects of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act) that apply to career federal employees.  The comments explained the deleterious effect that the law’s transaction reporting and Internet posting requirements are already having on career federal employees and described why these requirements are unnecessary.  The ABA entities urged Congress to refocus the law on its original intent: helping to assure public confidence in the ethical conduct of members of Congress and their employees.

These views are offered only on behalf of the aforementioned ABA entities. They have not been approved by the ABA House of Delegates or Board of Governors and should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.

The letter is available here.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.