Ethics and Public Policy Center

Ethics and Public Policy Center
Name	Ethics and Public Policy Center
Formation	1976
Founder	William E. Simon
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Type	Think tank
Focus	Public policy, ethics, law

Ethics and Public Policy Center is a Washington, D.C.–based research institute founded in 1976 that engages in public policy analysis, ethical inquiry, and legal scholarship. It interacts with a wide range of figures and institutions including policymakers, scholars, judges, and journalists to influence debates on law, religion, national security, and economic policy. Through conferences, publications, and testimony, it connects with networks across academia, think tanks, courts, and legislatures.

History

The center was established in 1976 by William E. Simon, with early ties to personalities such as James L. Buckley, Henry Kissinger, Milton Friedman, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan through overlapping policy circles. During the 1980s it intersected with initiatives associated with Paul Volcker, Jack Kemp, George H. W. Bush, and organizations like the Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Cato Institute, and Council on Foreign Relations. In subsequent decades the center engaged contemporaries including Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul II, and scholars from Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Georgetown University, and Columbia University. Its staff and fellows have testified before panels chaired by members of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and panels convened by the Supreme Court of the United States at events analogous to symposia involving the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society.

Mission and Activities

The organization states a mission centered on applying ethical principles drawn from traditions such as those associated with Judaism, Christianity, and public figures like Martin Luther King Jr. to issues involving law and civic life. It produces analysis addressing topics that intersect with decisions by institutions like the United States Congress, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. Its activities have involved commentary on legislation such as the Patriot Act, rulings like Brown v. Board of Education, and international accords comparable to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The center convenes panels that include academics from Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and practitioners from firms like Covington & Burling, Baker McKenzie, and non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Amnesty International.

Leadership and Organization

Leadership has included prominent figures from finance, law, and public service, connecting with executives like Robert Rubin, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s contemporaries, and politicians such as Newt Gingrich and Ted Cruz. Directors and fellows have included scholars linked to institutions like Princeton Theological Seminary, Notre Dame, Georgetown Law, Columbia Law School, and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Governance involves a board with members drawn from enterprises like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, foundations such as the John M. Olin Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and donors affiliated with initiatives like the Gates Foundation and the Smith Richardson Foundation. The organizational structure parallels those of think tanks including the Hudson Institute, Manhattan Institute, and R Street Institute with research fellows, visiting scholars, and affiliated adjuncts.

Programs and Initiatives

Programmatic work spans areas including national security, bioethics, religious liberty, and economic policy. Initiatives have addressed matters related to the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, nuclear strategy involving the International Atomic Energy Agency, and bioethical debates touched by rulings like Roe v. Wade. It has launched forums modeled after conferences such as the G7 Summit briefings, hosted dialogues analogous to the Munich Security Conference, and sponsored legal projects akin to those of the Brennan Center for Justice and the Project on Government Oversight. Fellows have partnered with scholars from Oxford University, Cambridge University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and policy experts from NATO to produce white papers and testimonies.

Publications and Media

The center issues reports, policy briefs, monographs, and commentary distributed through outlets and platforms where peers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and periodicals like Foreign Affairs, National Review, The Atlantic, and Commentary often engage. Contributors include academics who publish in journals like the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and Journal of Political Economy, and media appearances on networks including PBS, CNN, Fox News, and NPR amplify its analyses. It has produced works comparable to books published by presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, and monographs cited by the Library of Congress.

Funding and Affiliations

Funding sources have included individual philanthropists connected to enterprises like Microsoft, Amazon (company), ExxonMobil, and Chevron Corporation, grants from foundations including the Carnegie Corporation, MacArthur Foundation, and corporate sponsorships reminiscent of partnerships with General Electric, AT&T, and Cisco Systems. Affiliations extend to coalitions and networks such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, Acton Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, and academic centers at Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard Kennedy School, and Yale Law School. The center’s relationships with donors, partner institutions, and peer organizations parallel transparency debates involving the Internal Revenue Service and reporting practices overseen by statutes like the Internal Revenue Code.

Category:Think tanks based in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1976