By Brian Bushard | Forbes
TOPLINE
An eclectic group of lawmakers, including progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), proposed a bill Tuesday to effectively prevent members of Congress from actively trading stocks—the latest push to stop congressional stock trading, though previous efforts have faced opposition from both parties.
KEY FACTS
The Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, also introduced by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), would prohibit members of Congress, as well as their spouses and any dependents, from owning or trading individual stocks.
If signed into law, members of Congress would need to either sell any shares they own within 90 days or place them in a blind trust, and have 90 days to release any shares they acquire in the future, though it doesn’t restrict investments in mutual funds and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury or by a state or local government.
Similar pushes to restrict stock trading have struggled to move forward: Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—who herself has faced scrutiny for her husband’s trades—said last September a similar bill could move to the House floor that month, though that vote was postponed in October, signaling a setback in the movement against congressional stock trading.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) also introduced a stock trading ban along with two House members last year, and a separate piece of legislation requiring lawmakers to put their portfolios into blind trusts was proposed by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
