To: Congress
Ban Members of Congress from trading stocks
Speaker Pelosi must bring robust legislation to ban Congressional stock trading to the floor immediately! To ensure an ethical Congress, Members, their spouses, and their top aides must divest ownership of all individual stocks while in office.
Why is this important?
After months of eagerly waiting for Democrats’ proposal to ban Congressional stock trading, key negotiators say the final proposal released last week was designed to fail.
Members of Congress have a financial incentive to continue trading stocks and profiting off the insider information they’re privy to as public servants. We need to make sure our representatives feel the pressure: we demand that leadership introduces, and Congress passes, legislation forcing Members to completely divest from stock ownership while in office!
One reason Democrats’ proposal was dead on arrival is that it fails to ensure Members fully divest from their stocks. Instead, it allows Members to place their assets in ‘qualified blind trusts’ — a non-starter for many Members who recognize the trusts would create a loophole. In the words of one Democratic staffer involved in the negotiations, qualified blind trusts are “kind of fake.”
The public is still waiting on an adequate proposal to end corruption in Congress. Meanwhile, Members continue to profit at the public’s expense. Congress should be focused on making decisions that serve the public interest — not their personal stock portfolios.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi must bring legislation requiring Members of Congress to divest from individual stock ownership while in office to the floor immediately!
Members of Congress have a financial incentive to continue trading stocks and profiting off the insider information they’re privy to as public servants. We need to make sure our representatives feel the pressure: we demand that leadership introduces, and Congress passes, legislation forcing Members to completely divest from stock ownership while in office!
One reason Democrats’ proposal was dead on arrival is that it fails to ensure Members fully divest from their stocks. Instead, it allows Members to place their assets in ‘qualified blind trusts’ — a non-starter for many Members who recognize the trusts would create a loophole. In the words of one Democratic staffer involved in the negotiations, qualified blind trusts are “kind of fake.”
The public is still waiting on an adequate proposal to end corruption in Congress. Meanwhile, Members continue to profit at the public’s expense. Congress should be focused on making decisions that serve the public interest — not their personal stock portfolios.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi must bring legislation requiring Members of Congress to divest from individual stock ownership while in office to the floor immediately!