Hillary Clinton has lent her name to legislation that would crack down on bonuses that companies give to employees who join the government, an arrangement that critics have called bribery.
In an op-ed published Monday by the Huffington Post, the Democratic presidential candidate and Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin wrote in support of legislation authored by Baldwin aimed at slowing the revolving door between government and business.
“We need to make sure those who do the people’s work in Washington are actually doing it — not worrying about former or future bosses at the public’s expense,” the Democrats wrote in the piece.
By endorsing Baldwin’s legislation, Clinton is responding to a push from progressive activists to stake out a more populist stance on the issue.
“Secretary Clinton deserves real praise for listening to Elizabeth Warren wing Democrats and taking this vitally important first step in slowing down the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director for Democracy for America, referring to the Massachusetts senator who has led liberals in scrutinizing Wall Street practices.
Chamberlain’s group was one of eight progressive groups that last week sent a letter to Clinton outlining concerns about two of her campaign aides who in the past received bonuses upon leaving the financial sector for government. They also called on her to support the Baldwin measure meant to curb such payouts.
Clinton, who is perceived by some on the Left as too cozy with Wall Street and big business, has faced a left-wing insurgency in the Democratic primary from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, another Democratic candidate, both already expressed support for the Baldwin bill, which was also introduced in the house of Representatives by Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
The legislation would prevent companies from offering bonuses to employees if they leave to take positions in the government.
Such contracts have drawn outrage from liberal groups, most recently in the case of President Obama’s nomination of Lazard investment banker Antonio Weiss to the Treasury Department. Weiss stood to reap a $20 million bonus for becoming undersecretary for domestic finance, one of the factors that led liberal members of Congress to effectively block his appointment early this year. Weiss now serves in a role at the Treasury that did not require Senate confirmation.
In addition to banning such bonuses, Baldwin’s bill would lengthen the time that regulators must wait before being involved in any cases involving their former employers to two years. It also would lengthen the waiting period and tighten the rules for former government officials to lobby on behalf of companies they previously oversaw.
