Katie Porter: “Conflicts of interest lead to a crisis of confidence. Government officials shouldn't be able to use their Federal…”

“Conflicts of interest lead to a crisis of confidence. Government officials shouldn't be able to use their Federal contracting authority to line their own pockets. Pentagon officials owning stock in big defense contractors not only invites waste and abuse, it causes Americans to doubt whether the Department of Defense always spends taxpayer dollars in the public interest. I am proud that the House passed my proposal to ban Pentagon officials from owning stock in companies that receive over $1 billion in defense contracts. This safeguard will better protect the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars we send to the Pentagon each year. It will help prevent sweetheart deals for big defense contractors, and it will reduce the self-dealing that erodes trust in our government and undermines national security. Americans deserve confidence that their government is working for them. ____________________”