[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5952-S5954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               STOCK ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, S. 3510 addresses the concerns raised 
by 14 of the most highly respected folks in the national security 
field, from Michael Chertoff to Mike Mcconnell to Michael Mukasey, all 
of whom wrote with serious concerns about the application of one 
provision of the STOCK Act requiring online posting of financial data 
which would potentially impact the national security and the personal 
safety of national security and law enforcement professionals and their 
families. These are very serious concerns they have raised, and given 
that we are on the eve of the August district work period, we do not 
have time to adequately address those concerns. Thus, this very short 
bill adopts their joint recommendation to delay implementation until 
the national security and personal safety implications can be fully 
evaluated. Not one change has been made to what is required to be 
reported, and there is no change to the longstanding requirement that 
all these reports are already available in person. It is for the safety 
and security of our brave men and women that we need to ensure they are 
protected which is exactly what this bill does.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have a letter dated July 
19, 2012, addressed to congressional leaders printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


[[Page S5953]]


                                                    July 19, 2012.
     Re Application of Section 11 of the STOCK Act to National 
         Security Officials.

     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Majority Leader,
     United States Senate,
     Hon. Eric Cantor,
     Majority Leader
     House of Representatives,
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Minority Leader,
     United States Senate,
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Minority Leader,
     House of Representatives,
     Hon. Carl Levin,
     Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, United 
         States Senate,
     Hon. Buck McKeon,
     Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, House of 
         Representatives,
     Hon. John McCain,
     Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, 
         United States Senate,
     Hon. Adam Smith,
     Ranking Member of the House Committee on Armed Services, 
         House of Representatives,
     Hon. John Kerry,
     Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, United 
         States Senate,
     Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
     Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of 
         Representatives,
     Hon. Richard Lugar,
     Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 
         United States Senate,
     Hon. Howard Berman,
     Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
         House of Representatives,
     Hon. Joe Lieberman,
     Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
         Governmental Affairs, United States Senate,
     Hon. Peter King,
     Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, House 
         of Representatives,
     Hon. Susan Collins,
     Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
         and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate,
     Hon. Bennie Thompson,
     Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, 
         House of Representatives,
     Hon. Dianne Feinstein,
     Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 
         United States Senate,
     Hon. Mike Rogers,
     Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on 
         Intelligence, House of Representatives,
     Hon. Saxby Chambliss,
     Ranking Member of the Senate Select Committee on 
         Intelligence, United States Senate,
     Hon. Dutch Ruppersberger,
     Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on 
         Intelligence, House of Representatives,
     Hon. Patrick Leahy,
     Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, United 
         States Senate,
     Hon. Lamar Smith,
     Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, House of 
         Representatives,
     Hon. Chuck Grassley,
     Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 
         United States Senate,
     Hon. John Conyers, Jr.,
     Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, House 
         of Representatives.
       Dear Congressional Leaders: We are writing to express 
     concern about section 11 of the Stop Trading in Congressional 
     Knowledge Act (the STOCK Act), which requires that the 
     financial disclosure forms of senior executive branch 
     officials be posted on the Internet by August 31. While we 
     agree that the government should have access to the financial 
     information of its senior officials to ensure the integrity 
     of government decision making, we strongly urge that Congress 
     immediately pass legislation allowing an exception from the 
     Internet posting requirement for certain executive branch 
     officials, in order to protect the national security and the 
     personal safety of these officials and their families.
       The STOCK Act was intended to stop insider trading by 
     Members of Congress. However, section 11 of the Act, which 
     was added without any public hearings or consideration of 
     national security or personnel safety implications, requires 
     that financial data of over 28,000 executive branch officials 
     throughout the U.S. government, including members of the U.S. 
     military and career diplomats, law enforcement officials, and 
     officials in sensitive national security jobs in the Defense 
     Department, State Department and other agencies, be posted on 
     their agency websites.
       It is not clear what public purpose is served by inclusion 
     of Section 11. We are not aware that any transparency 
     concerns have been raised about the adequacy of the existing 
     review process for executive branch officials, most of whom 
     have devoted their careers to public service. For several 
     decades, executive branch officials have prepared and 
     submitted SF-278 financial disclosure forms to their 
     employing agencies. The completed forms and the extensive 
     financial data they contain are carefully reviewed by agency 
     ethics officers in light of the specific responsibilities of 
     the officials submitting them in order to identify and 
     eliminate potential conflicts of interest. Although the forms 
     may be requested by members of the public, they are not 
     published in hard-copy or on the Internet. Moreover, 
     individuals requesting copies of the forms must provide their 
     names, occupation, and contact information. Agencies 
     generally notify the filing officials about who has requested 
     their personal financial information.
       In contrast, Section 11 of the STOCK Act would require that 
     the financial disclosure forms of executive branch officials 
     be posted on each agency's website and that a government-wide 
     database be created containing the SF-278s that would be 
     searchable and sortable without the use of a login or any 
     other screening process to control or monitor access to this 
     personal information.
       We believe that this new uncontrolled disclosure scheme for 
     executive branch officials will create significant threats to 
     the national security and to the personal safety and 
     financial security of executive branch officials and their 
     families, especially career employees. Placing complete 
     personal financial information of all senior officials on the 
     Internet would be a jackpot for enemies of the United States 
     intent on finding security vulnerabilities they can exploit. 
     SF-278 forms include a treasure trove of personal financial 
     information: the location and value of employees' savings and 
     checking accounts and certificates of deposit; a full 
     valuation and listing of their investment portfolio; a 
     listing of real estate assets and their value; a listing of 
     debts, debt amounts, and creditors; and the signatures of the 
     filers. SF-278s include financial information not only about 
     the filing employee, but also about the employee's spouse and 
     dependent children.
       Posting this detailed financial information on the Internet 
     will jeopardize the safety of executive branch officials--
     including military, diplomatic, law enforcement, and 
     potentially intelligence officials--and their families who 
     are posted or travel in dangerous areas, especially in 
     certain countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Embassy 
     and military security officers already advise these officials 
     to post no personal identifying information on the Internet. 
     Publishing the financial assets of these officials will allow 
     foreign governments, and terrorist or criminal groups to 
     specifically target these officials or their families for 
     kidnapping, harassment, manipulation of financial assets, and 
     other abuse.
       Equally important, the detailed personal financial 
     information--particularly detailed information about debts 
     and creditors--contained in the SF-278s of senior officials 
     is precisely the information that foreign intelligence 
     services and other adversaries spend billions of dollars 
     every year to uncover as they look for information that can 
     be used to harass, intimidate and blackmail those in the 
     government with access to classified information. Yet under 
     the STOCK Act, these SF-278s will be placed on the Internet 
     for any foreign government or group to access without 
     disclosing their identity or purpose and with no notice to 
     the employees or their agencies. We should not hand on a 
     silver platter to foreign intelligence services information 
     that could be used to compromise or harass career public 
     servants who have access to the most sensitive information 
     held by the U.S. government.
       Section 11 could also jeopardize the safety and security of 
     other executive branch officials, such as federal prosecutors 
     and others who are tracking down and bringing to justice 
     domestic organized crime gangs and foreign terrorists. Crime 
     gangs could easily target the families of prosecutors with 
     substantial assets or debts for physical attacks or threats.
       Finally, publishing detailed banking and brokerage 
     information of executive branch officials, especially with 
     their signatures, is likely to invite hacking, financial 
     attacks, and identity theft of these officials and their 
     families, particularly by groups or individuals who may be 
     affected by their governmental work.
       Given these inevitable adverse national security 
     consequences, we urge you to amend the STOCK Act to protect 
     U.S. national security interests and the safety of executive 
     branch officials by creating an exception from the 
     requirements of Section 11 for senior executive branch 
     officials with security clearances. The exception should also 
     apply to other officials based on a determination by an 
     agency head that an exception is necessary to protect the 
     safety of the official or the official's family. At the very 
     minimum, Congress should act to delay implementation of 
     Section 11 until the national security and personal safety 
     implications can be fully evaluated.
       If the financial disclosure forms of senior executive 
     officials are actually posted on the Internet in August, 
     there will be irreparable damage to U.S. national security 
     interests, and many senior executives and their families may 
     be placed in danger. This issue is too important to be 
     trapped in partisan politics. We urge Congress to act 
     swiftly, before the Congress goes on its summer recess on 
     August 6.
           Sincerely,
       Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State, 2001-2005; 
     John B. Bellinger III, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP; Legal 
     Adviser, U.S. Department of State, 2005-2009; Legal Adviser, 
     National Security Council, The White House, 2001-2005; Joel 
     Brenner, National Counterintelligence Executive, 2006-2009; 
     Inspector General, National Security Agency, 2002-2006; 
     Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, 2005-2009; 
     Jamie Gorelick, Deputy Attorney General, 1994-1997; General 
     Counsel, Department of Defense, 1993-1994; John Hamre, Deputy 
     Secretary of Defense, 1997-2000; Michael Hayden, General USAF 
     (RET); Director of the Central

[[Page S5954]]

     Intelligence Agency 2006-2009; Director of the National 
     Security Agency 1999-2006; Mike McConnell, Vice Admiral USN 
     (RET); Director of National Intelligence, 2007-2009; Director 
     of the National Security Agency, 1992-1996; Michael B. 
     Mukasey, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton; Attorney General, 
     2007-2009; U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New 
     York, 1988-2006; John Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State, 
     2007-2009; Director of National Intelligence, 2005-2007; 
     Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political 
     Affairs, 1997-2000; Former U.S. Ambassador; Frances Townsend, 
     Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
     Counterterrorism, 2004-2008; Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant 
     to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, 
     2008-2009; Assistant Attorney General for National Security, 
     Department of Justice, 2006-2008; Juan Zarate, Deputy 
     National Security Advisor, Combating Terrorism, 2005-2009; 
     Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Terrorist Financing and 
     Financial Crimes, 2004-2005.

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