WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) employees must be prohibited from working with Wall Street companies for one year after they cease employment with the securities regulator, US Congressman Stephen Lynch said in a statement upon introducing the SEC Revolving Door Restriction Act of 2015.
“[The Act] will reduce conflicts of interests beyond the current ethics rules by requiring employees to wait at least a year following separation from work at the SEC before working for a company whose enforcement action they handled,” Lynch said on Thursday.
Specifically, the bill would prevent SEC employees who handled enforcement cases against Wall Street firms within 18 months of their departure from the SEC to wait one year before working with the company.
The bill is supported by the non-partisan watchdog Project on Government Accountability (POGO).
“The revolving door has spun with alarming speed between Wall Street and the SEC's enforcement division, allowing scores of former officials to become highly-paid lawyers, lobbyists, and consultants for the very banks they used to investigate,” POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian said.
Brian noted said the bill would restore trust in the SEC and should have bi-partisan support in Congress.
The SEC is the federal agency responsible for monitoring securities markets and enforcing securities regulations.
