U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia launched a survey this week in which she asked constituents if Speaker Mike Johnson should bring a bill banning congressional stock trading up for a vote.
More than 95 precent of the 1,750 respondents indicated support for such a bill.
The Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act would require all members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children to put certain investment assets in a blind trust during their time in office.
Spanberger called on Johnson today to bring the legislation to the U.S. House floor for a vote. She leads the legislation with U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and 63 Democrats and Republicans have cosponsored the bill since its reintroduction in January 2023.
In her letter, Spanberger outlined the American public’s strong support for banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. She reminded the new Speaker of the House about his predecessor’s failure to follow through on his commitment to bring a congressional stock trading ban to the floor of the U.S. House for a vote.
“Prior to assuming the role of Speaker of the House, U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy promised to hold a vote on legislation to ban Member stock trading,” Spanberger said. “Unfortunately, there was no significant movement on this issue in the nine months of Speaker Emeritus McCarthy’s tenure.”
According to Spanberger, the House “must work to avoid a government shutdown, provide vital aid to our allies, pass a bipartisan Farm Bill, and support our troops. After weeks of dysfunction, our constituents are eager to see their elected officials working for them. Bringing forward legislation to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks will demonstrate this commitment — and the American people will thank you.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
