On Thursday, Senators Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) brought back a proposal aimed at preventing Congressional members from trading individual stocks.
The Prohibition of Congress Stock Transactions Act mandates that Congress members, as well as their spouses and dependent children, either put their stocks into a qualified blind trust or sell them off.
This proposed ban does not include investments in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, U.S. Treasury securities, compensation from family-owned businesses, or government retirement plans.
Ossoff emphasized that the goal of this legislation is to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest and to ensure that members do not exploit inside information for stock market gains.
“Members of Congress should not engage in stock trading while shaping federal policies and shouldn’t have undue access to sensitive information,” Ossoff remarked in a statement.
He further stated that allowing stock trading among Congress members could severely undermine public trust and create an impression of wrongdoing. “For these reasons, stock trading should be completely prohibited,” he added.
Kelly also echoed these sentiments, arguing that the American public shouldn’t have to contend with the possibility of representatives using privileged information to profit quickly.
“It’s not complex,” Kelly explained in a statement. “The only way to end insider trading in Congress is for members to stop trading stocks altogether. Making this change is essential for rebuilding trust and addressing the dysfunction in Washington.”
He referenced a poll indicating that most registered voters favor a ban on individual stock trading by lawmakers, despite several legislative efforts that have been made in the past few years.
A July 2023 poll conducted by the University of Maryland revealed that 87% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats, and 81% of independents support such a ban.
The bill has additional support, co-sponsored by Senators like Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Rafael Warnock (Georgia), and Michael Bennett (Colorado).
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) previously attempted a similar measure to restrict stock trading among Congressional members with a bill he reintroduced last month called the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act.”
These initiatives come in the wake of former President Trump’s recent comments in support of a Congressional trading ban, stating that he would “absolutely” sign such a measure if it reached his desk.
“I saw Nancy Pelosi profit from insider information, and I’d support that. If it lands on my desk, I’m in,” Trump remarked, as reported by Time Magazine during an interview about his initial 100 days in office.
When pressed about the possibility of signing a ban, he affirmed, “Absolutely.”
It’s worth noting that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had previously opposed a 2022 proposal to restrict Congressional stock trading. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, is known for making significant profits from stock investments.
