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Issue record

Money in politics and ethics

In short

Cait Conley's campaign backs banning individual-stock trading by members of Congress and says she takes no corporate PAC money. Mike Lawler's campaign backs limits on stock trading by members. On the record, Conley's filings through June 2026 list $601,507 from political committees, none a corporate PAC in FEC records. Lawler cosponsored and voted for H.R. 7008, which limits stock buys and adds a voter ID rule; it passed the House but not the Senate.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Cait Conley

Supports a ban on individual-stock trading by members of Congress. Her campaign also calls for extending a ban to the White House, term limits and an end to Citizens United; she says she takes no corporate PAC money.

Mike Lawler

Supports restrictions on stock trading by members of Congress. He is an original cosponsor of H.R. 7008 and voted for the House-passed version, which restricts stock purchases and requires notice before sales, and also contains federal voter photo-ID requirements.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. campaign position

    Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

    Lawler cosponsored Steil's stock bill and backed House passage. It limits purchases and requires sale notices; it is not law. Exact leadership credit remains unsettled.

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    Full detail

    Lawler supported banning individual-stock trading by members of Congress and said he had led on the bill. Bryan Steil sponsored H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, January 12, 2026, with Lawler as an original cosponsor. Its House-passed text restricts covered purchases by members, spouses and dependent children, with exceptions including diversified funds, and requires 7-14 days’ notice before sales. A federal-voting photo ID provision is also in that text. Lawler voted Yea on House passage July 22, 232-198 (roll 280). Senate cloture on proceeding failed September 30, so it has not become law. Why there is no verdict: Cosponsorship and his vote establish meaningful participation, but direct drafting or negotiating leadership remains source-limited. Political leadership does not require sole authorship. The bill regulates purchases and sales rather than banning every transaction or holding, and supporting it does not prove opposition to a broader ban. Limit: Cosponsorship and his vote establish meaningful participation, but direct drafting or negotiating leadership remains source-limited. Political leadership does not require sole authorship. The bill regulates purchases and sales rather than banning every transaction or holding, and supporting it does not prove opposition to a broader ban. Debate wording is paraphrased from native captions.

  2. official action

    Cait Conley: Matches stated record claim

    Her filings through June 2026 list $601,507 from political committees, and none is a committee the FEC records as a corporation's PAC.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    Her campaign said in April 2026 that it had taken no money from corporate PACs. Her filings through June 30, 2026 list money from political committees on lines 11B, 11C and 12 totalling 601,507.43 dollars. None of it is from a committee the FEC records as a corporation's PAC. The largest sources are two Democratic nominee funds, ActBlue, leadership PACs, and other and labor PACs. Limit: This rests on the FEC's record of each giving committee's type. A leadership PAC or other PAC that gave to her can itself take corporate PAC money, and that is not traced here. Filings after June 30 were not yet due.

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Sources10 source records

How we use sources

  1. News 12 debate: congressional stock tradinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=1190s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    19:50-19:59; both candidates answer the individual-stock question, Lawler also points to a bill. Paraphrase from the host-matched native captions captured October 4; no independently confirmed exact quotation. Full native payload retained privately.

    candidate statement

    For: Cait Conley: campaign position; Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  2. Policyhttps://caitconley.com/policy/

    Cait for New York · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Twelve policy sections. Undated; read October 1, 2026.

    candidate statement

    For: Cait Conley: campaign position

  3. Cait Conley for Congresshttps://caitconley.com/

    Cait for New York · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign home page. Paid for by Cait for New York. Links X (@CaitforNewYork), Facebook and Instagram (caitconley).

    candidate statement

    For: Cait Conley: campaign position

  4. H.R. 7008: Stop Insider Trading Acthttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7008

    Congress.gov · Published Jan 12, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Bryan Steil is sponsor; Lawler is an original cosponsor. Full 28-action and 93-cosponsor lists captured October 4; no enactment. Senate cloture on the motion to proceed was not invoked September 30.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  5. H.R. 7008: text passed by the Househttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr7008eh/html/BILLS-119hr7008eh.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Published Jul 22, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Section 2 restricts covered stock purchases by members, spouses and dependent children and requires notice before sales; exceptions include diversified funds. Section 3 requires photo ID for federal voting.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  6. Clerk: House passage of H.R. 7008, Roll Call 280https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026280

    U.S. House Clerk · Published Jul 22, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Final tally 232-198; Lawler Yea. Roll 279 was a motion to recommit, not passage. The final Clerk tally governs instead of an office-release tally.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  7. News 12 NY17 debate: lawler stock trading (19:54)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=1194s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    September 28, 2026 debate. Statement paraphrased from retained native captions. One transcript is available, so no verbatim quotation is certified; neighboring opponent assertions are excluded.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  8. Cait Conley Again Outraises Entire NY-17 Primary Field Combinedhttps://caitconley.com/cait-conley-again-outraises-entire-ny-17-primary-field-combined-heads-into-final-two-months-with-massive-momentum-and-coh-advantage/

    Cait for New York · Published Apr 16, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign release posted April 16, 2026, on first-quarter fundraising.

    candidate statement

    For: Cait Conley: Matches stated record claim

  9. Cait for New York, receipts from committees, 2025-26 (FEC lines 11B, 11C and 12)https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?committee_id=C00900431&two_year_transaction_period=2026&line_number=F3-11C

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Read with tools/fec-money/money.py on October 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026. Each line's itemized rows equal the filed total: 0 (11B), 422,990.43 (11C), 178,517.00 (12). No 11C row comes from a committee the FEC records as a corporation's PAC.

    fec filing

    For: Cait Conley: Matches stated record claim

  10. Cait for New York, July Quarterly 2026 (FEC file 1996964)https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00900431/1996964/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Covers June 4 to June 30, 2026; received July 15, 2026. Receipts 1,059,259.60; disbursements 681,076.51; cash on hand 1,319,156.47; no debt.

    fec filing

    For: Cait Conley: Matches stated record claim