A bipartisan group of nine members of Congress have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the chair and ranking member of the Committee on House Administration calling for a vote on a congressional stock trading ban by Sept. 30.
They are also asking to outline a list of principles that should be included in any upcoming legislation that would be considered.
The band would apply to members of Congress, their spouses and their dependent children – and would ban them from trading individual stocks while serving in office.
Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) has long pushed for Congress to enact a ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress while serving in office.
In January 2021, Spanberger along with Texas Congressman Chip Roy (R) reintroduced their Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to increase transparency and reduce opportunities for insider trading by requiring that members of Congress put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress.
“We, a bipartisan coalition working to reform stock trading practices in Congress, write to inform you that we have composed a list of first principles for legislation to end stock trading by members of Congress, and we respectfully urge House leadership and the Committee on House Administration to work with us to bring a bill to the floor for a vote before September 30th, 2022, that follows these principles,” said the coalition in the letter.
“However, in the service of our constituents and to restore trust in our public institutions, we are working together to synthesize our respective legislation into a single bipartisan legislative framework, and as part of that work, we have established a set of shared principles that have guided our own efforts to find consensus and develop a broader legislative framework,” the letter reads.
Click here to read the full letter.
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Crystal Graham
