Democrats Release Legislation to Ban Stock Trading by Members of Congress, SCOTUS
House Democrats have released their long-awaited bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress, senior government officials, and U.S. Supreme Court justices, with the legislation seeking to cut conflicts of interest, increase transparency around enforcement, and make penalties for noncompliance more painful.
The text of the bill (pdf), titled “Combatting Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government Act,” seeks to ban a range of officials—in Congress, the executive branch, the Supreme Court, and at the Federal Reserve—from trading or owning investments in instruments including stocks, commodities, futures, and cryptocurrencies.
The draft legislation would force individuals covered by the measure to divest themselves of these holdings or put them in a qualified blind trust.
The House Press Gallery’s Twitter account said in a Sept. 22 statement that the proposed legislation could be considered in the House as early as this week.
That statement came on the same day that Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the Committee on House Administration, outlined a broad framework for the bill in a letter to fellow Democrats. The committee was tasked with reviewing deficiencies in the current financial disclosure system and proposing a fix.
“Following that review, I believe that a meaningful and effective plan to combat financial conflicts of interest could help restore the public’s faith and trust that our public servants act in the public interest,” Lofgren wrote.
‘Are Our Public Officials Acting in the Public Interest?’
Pressure has been growing for some time to reform the current financial disclosure system after media scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest in trading by U.S. government officials and their families.
A recent analysis found that over a three-year span, nearly one-fifth of members of Congress or their family members bought or sold financial assets that showed possible conflicts of interest.
“These stories undermine the American people’s faith and
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
