The federal government has every right to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. It does not have the right to decide how private companies use their own earnings. Yet that’s exactly the line Congress is in danger of crossing.
Section 815 of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act would require certain companies doing business with the federal government to obtain approval before paying dividends or repurchasing their own stock. It may sound like a narrow procedural change in corporate governance, but it represents something much bigger: another step toward allowing Washington to influence lawful business decisions that should remain in the hands of businesses and their owners.
But this isn’t just about corporations. It’s about the millions of Americans whose financial futures are tied to those businesses. For years, dividends and share buybacks have been portrayed as little more than giveaways to wealthy investors. That’s an easy political narrative, but it ignores who today’s investors really are.
They’re the teacher building a pension. The firefighter contributing to a 401(k). The nurse working extra shifts. The military family saving for retirement. The small-business owner investing for the future. They’re millions of hardworking Americans who own shares of public companies through retirement plans, mutual funds, and pension accounts.
When those companies create value, everyday Americans benefit. Dividends can provide income for retirement funds. Share buybacks can increase the value of investments that millions of families already own. These aren’t abstract financial tools — they’re part of how ordinary Americans build long-term financial security.
But the larger issue isn’t dividends or share buybacks. It’s whether America still believes in a free marketplace.
America’s economy became the strongest and most innovative in the world because entrepreneurs were free to build businesses, take risks, create jobs, and reinvest the value they created. Markets thrive because millions of decisions are made by business owners, investors, employees, and consumers, not by government officials. When Washington begins substituting its judgment for those closest to the business, economic freedom shrinks, innovation slows, and opportunity suffers.
Government contracts should absolutely come with accountability, transparency, and high expectations. But they should not become a vehicle for government to dictate lawful business decisions that have nothing to do with fulfilling the contract itself.
Once government begins deciding how private companies may allocate their own earnings, where does that authority end?
If Washington can influence decisions about dividends and buybacks today, what prevents it from weighing in on hiring, expansion, executive compensation, capital investments, or other lawful business judgments tomorrow? Economic freedom is rarely lost in one sweeping act. More often, it is chipped away one policy at a time.
There is another consequence Congress should not ignore.
America’s public markets have long allowed everyday families, not just institutional investors or the wealthy, to participate in the success of growing businesses. They have created one of the most accessible pathways for Americans to build wealth, save for retirement, and invest in the nation’s future.
But the more government inserts itself into the operation of public companies, the less attractive public markets become. More businesses will choose to remain private longer, concentrating opportunity among those who already have exclusive access to private investments while limiting ordinary Americans’ ability to share in economic growth.
That moves our economy in exactly the wrong direction.
At Christian Employers Alliance, we believe Economic Freedom is one of the essential freedoms that allows people to pursue meaningful work, build businesses, create jobs, provide for their families, and steward their resources responsibly. It is one of the Five Freedoms reflected in our Biblical Business Index, which evaluates legislation based on whether it protects the conditions necessary for businesses, and the people who depend on them, to flourish.
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The question isn’t whether government should provide oversight. It should. The question is whether government preserves the freedom that allows businesses to innovate, compete, invest, and grow, or gradually replaces free-market decision-making with government control.
Congress should absolutely protect taxpayers. But it should not confuse oversight with control. The strength of America’s economy has never come from Washington directing private enterprise. It has always come from free people operating in free markets, building businesses, creating jobs, investing in communities, and expanding opportunity for the next generation. That’s not simply good economic policy. It’s a freedom worth defending.
Margaret Iuculano is President of the Christian Employers Alliance.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
