[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2038-H2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1830
STOCK TRADING BAN FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr.
Magaziner of Rhode Island was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee
of the minority leader. )
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I am joined tonight by a bipartisan group
of Members who have come together to take to the floor tonight to call
for Members of Congress to be banned from trading stocks.
This is a reform that is long overdue. When people elect us to
office, they should be able to trust that their Members of Congress are
acting in the best interests of the country, not the best interests of
their own personal finances. When Members of Congress are
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able to trade off of our position, it damages the integrity of this
institution and of our entire democracy.
As Members of Congress, we have access to all sorts of information
that the average member of the public does not: what might be put into
a bill or taken out of a bill, or what might be put into a budget or
taken out of a budget. This is material information, and Members of
Congress should not have the advantage of that insider information and
use that advantage to engage in stock trading.
Also, Members of Congress should not be conflicted when we have to
decide about what to vote for or against. Members of Congress should
not be in a position of thinking about what the impact on their stock
portfolio may be. We should be making decisions based just on what is
best for the American people.
The American people recognize that this is a reform that is long
overdue. Poll after poll has shown upwards of 90 percent of the
American people supporting a ban on Members trading stocks.
This is an issue that has been around for a while. Yet, in just the
last few weeks, we have achieved significant momentum. In the last 3
weeks, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the
House; President Trump; and today, the Speaker of the House, Mike
Johnson, have all come out in favor of this reform. That is real
momentum that we should carry forward to the finish line.
Mr. Speaker, the Democratic leader is for it. The Republican leader
is for it. The President of the United States is for it. Let's get it
done.
I am joined tonight by a number of Members who represent, I think,
the full ideological diversity of the House of Representatives--both
sides, liberal, conservative, moderate, people who understand that the
American people expect better of this body.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield to some of my partners in this
effort, Members who have had the courage to stand up and say that we
need to enact this reform and ban Members of Congress from trading
stocks once and for all.
I am going to start by recognizing a Member from the Republican side
who I have had several great conversations with on this issue. He has
introduced a bill that would put a congressional stock trading ban into
effect.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).
Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
I thank him for taking this bull by the horns.
Mr. Speaker, as I have heard some of the good ol' boys say: It is
cold in here. Maybe we need to start cutting some hogs.
If you know what that means, you know what that means.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to address this body on the issue of stock
trading by Members of Congress. We are public servants and stewards of
our community. Why does Congress think we are above the law?
For years, Members of Congress have gotten rich on the backs of
hardworking Americans' taxpayer money. Members sit on committees and go
to private briefings where they get privileged information from
companies informing us if the stock price will skyrocket or plunge.
We appropriate money to different economic sectors that may benefit
our own portfolios, and who gets the short end of the stick?
Hardworking, red-blooded Americans.
That is why I introduced the End Congressional Stock Trading Act to
level the playing field and restore public trust in Congress. Every
time I go back to east Tennessee, I get asked by my constituents: Tim,
why hasn't Congress done anything to stop this?
My answer is simple. It says in my notes that Congress doesn't have
the stomach--but the reality is we don't have the guts, Mr. Speaker--to
sacrifice their own bottom line for the good of the country. I hope I
am surprised, and I hope that Congress takes action. I doubt we will,
seriously.
Mr. Speaker, we are public servants. We serve the people who we
represent. We aren't elected to come up to Washington and get rich
while our constituents oftentimes struggle to make ends meet.
I am here to serve the least amongst us and try my dadgum hardest to
make the lives of east Tennesseans better, Mr. Speaker. I don't sell
stocks. I have a mutual fund. I talked to my broker today, Tommy Siler,
and I am proud to say that I have recovered from any losses, and I am
almost at $11,000 with my mutual fund. Mainly, I trade baseball cards
and comic books on eBay, and that is currently my portfolio.
President Trump said that if my colleagues pass the bill banning
stock trading for Members of Congress, he would sign it. Let's see if
we have the guts to stand up and do what is right.
When I was mayor of Knox County, there were things that would come
before me. I would bring in my attorney. I would bring my buddy, Mike
Jones, and I would bring in my dear friend Colonel Julian, who has
since passed, Mike would tell me if it was legal or if it was illegal.
He would say: Well, boss, it is legal.
I would look at Colonel Julian, and Colonel Julian would tell me if
it was ethical or not.
Mr. Speaker, this may be legal, but dadgummit, it is surely not
ethical. We know what is right. We need to do what is right.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor. It has been a pleasure working with
the gentleman, who has been straight up, and I dig that.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I now recognize the gentleman from California (Mr.
Levin), who has been an outspoken champion for this reform for many
years.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, when I first started running for Congress a
number of years ago, my wife and I sold all of our individual stocks,
and I made a commitment that if I were elected, I wouldn't trade
individual stocks while in office because being a Representative isn't
just a title; it is a responsibility that we all have, and that
responsibility is to serve the people and not our own financial
interests.
Let's face it: Too many Americans have lost faith in government. They
wonder whether their elected officials are truly working for them. We
can't allow that doubt to grow. We have the power to help fix it.
That is why I have long supported legislation to ban Members of
Congress from trading individual stocks, and I am encouraged that we
are working together in a bipartisan way to get this done.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Magaziner, Representative Roy,
and others who have been working together for some time on this. We
have a lot of momentum. Today, as was said, Speaker Johnson said that
he supports a stock trading ban. Leader Jeffries supports a stock
trading ban. President Trump has said that he would sign a stock
trading ban into the law.
Again, this is not a partisan issue. Poll after poll shows
overwhelming support. Approximately 80 percent of Americans want
Congress to pass a ban on Members stock trading. They want to know that
their Representatives are here to serve the public, not to profit from
their positions.
Recent events have only made this more urgent. Last month, markets
moved sharply after the reversal of tariffs that had been threatened.
Just hours before that announcement, there were posts on social media.
I don't need to recount all of that now, and we don't know exactly who
had advance notice of that decision or whether anybody acted on it, but
that is exactly the problem.
Americans should never ever have to wonder if public officials are
using any sort of inside knowledge to enrich themselves. That is why we
need to act now. We need a law that says, clearly and without
exception, if you serve in Congress, you cannot trade individual
stocks. No more gray areas. No more questions; just clear rules that
restore trust and put the public interest first. We have the support.
We have the momentum, and we have a responsibility to get this done.
Speaker Johnson, please work with us. Allow a vote on a stock trading
ban. Let's begin the long process to restore confidence in this body.
The time to act is now.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, the stock trading bill that I am leading
was originally introduced by Abigail Spanberger, the Representative
from Virginia. I know if she is watching, she is smiling to see all of
us coming together and to see the progress that has
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been made in the last few weeks in building support on this issue.
I give her a lot of credit for getting the ball rolling along with
the next gentleman who I am going to introduce, who has been a
fantastic partner and co-lead on the TRUST in Congress Act. I know that
we are going to get this done, in large part due to his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Magaziner has been an excellent partner in this effort, and it is
now long overdue.
I am glad he mentioned my friend, Abigail Spanberger. Both of us went
to the University of Virginia. That is part of the reason why we
conspired together on this bill, when we were talking about how
ridiculous it was that, on both sides of the aisle, there were blatant
abuses of this trust that the American people put in the people who
represent them not to violate that trust by trading securities for-
profit on the very issues they are supposed to be voting on objectively
to benefit the United States of America. Yet, that is precisely what
has happened.
Mr. Speaker, this is now the fourth Congress in a row that I have
introduced the TRUST in Congress Act, now with Mr. Magaziner, and I
think it is long overdue.
In the 119th Congress, we have 12 Republican cosponsors and 60
Democratic cosponsors. I say to my Republican colleagues: Get with the
program because 12 is not enough. We need to get everybody on board
here.
I am glad the Speaker has said that he would support it. I am glad
the President of the United States, President Trump, has said that he
would sign it. Yet, we have to be realistic about what we are talking
about.
We vote every day on massive issues. We vote about healthcare
policies involving pharmaceutical companies that make billions of
dollars, massive insurance companies, and massive hospital
corporations. We vote on intellectual property issues in the Committee
on the Judiciary. We vote on antitrust issues. We vote on all manners
of issues, including Defense Department policies, that involve hundreds
of billions of dollars in the capital markets. Yet, Members are voting
on that while trading stocks on a daily basis.
Capitol Trades reports that 113 Members of Congress made 9,261 trades
in 2024 involving 706 million shares or other assets. We had a Democrat
who made 4,000 trades for a 20 percent return. We had a Republican who
made almost 2,000 trades for a 23 percent return; a Democrat, 575
trades, a 22 percent return.
I could keep going down the list.
We had Members of Congress in 2024: a Republican with a 149 percent
return; a Democrat with a 142 percent return; a Democrat with a 124
percent return; a Republican with a 111 percent return; a Democrat with
a 105 percent return.
I could keep going down. There is a lot of Americans who would like
to have returns along those lines. In fact, there are now funds out
there that follow and trade along with the congressional Members of
Congress to see what they are trading. That is ridiculous.
You should come to Congress. You should take your assets and move
them into widely held index funds. It should be able to be done on a
tax basis. Come in here. Clean the decks. Go represent your
constituents. It is long past due. Let's move the bill. Let's get it to
the floor. Mr. Speaker, bring it to a vote, and let's put trust back in
Congress.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for being a great
partner on this and a great leader on this issue for many years.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), a
great champion for justice.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, the American people expect and deserve to
know that their elected officials are working for them, not lining
their own pockets.
When Members of Congress trade individual stocks while in office, it
fuels distrust, undermines public confidence, and casts a shadow over
the work of this institution. Even the perception of impropriety
weakens the bond between the government and the governed.
Members of Congress have unparalleled access to market-moving
information and the ability to shape laws and regulations that can
impact entire industries. That power must never be used to enrich
ourselves or our families.
There is simply no legitimate reason for Members of Congress, their
spouses, or their dependent children to be trading individual stocks,
period. This bipartisan legislation would close that dangerous loophole
once and for all. It would require lawmakers to place certain
investments into qualified blind trusts, prevent conflicts of interest,
and restore accountability where it is so desperately needed.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor the TRUST in Congress Act, and I
thank Representatives Magaziner and Roy for their leadership on this
critical bipartisan legislation. It is a long overdue, commonsense step
toward restoring integrity in public service and rebuilding the trust
of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in both Chambers to join us in
passing this essential reform.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I now recognize someone who is new to
Congress but who I know is passionate about this issue and I believe
campaigned on it, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Bresnahan).
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Mr. BRESNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
effort to ban congressional stock trading because public service must
never be compromised by private financial interest. The American people
deserve to know that we are acting on their behalf, not for our own
portfolios.
That is why I have already begun placing all of my assets into a
blind trust, to align my conduct with the principles behind this
important reform.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Roy and Magaziner for their
bipartisan leadership on this issue. Their work demonstrates the kind
of accountability and integrity that Congress needs more of. Their
efforts are a critical step forward toward rebuilding trust in our
institutions, and I look forward to working with them to codify this
into law.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New
Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), a good friend and a leader on the Oversight
Committee who I know is committed to strong ethics reform.
Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, let me begin with a simple fact: No
Member of Congress should be trading stocks. Period. None.
That is why I believe we must ban congressional stock trading and why
I am proud to cosponsor this act here in Congress.
The American people deserve to know that their Members of Congress
are working for them, not for stock portfolios; that their decisions,
their policies, and their priorities are in the public interest and not
the interest of private profit.
Let's be real, we have all seen it here, even over the last several
weeks, as Members of this body have traded stocks while working on
policies currently before Congress, possible insider trading in the
midst of the President's trade wars. A President and a Speaker who both
declared, it is a good time to buy while Members went out and did it:
oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, Big Tech, and yes, AI.
Let me be clear: Not only is it wrong and immoral, it must be made
illegal. We will be investigating anyone who engaged in insider
trading, but banning stocks is only one piece of restoring faith in our
public institutions, especially in a time when billionaires are buying
elections, and Cabinet positions, and setting themselves up for
sweetheart deals.
Let me also say this: We must get big money out of politics and get
it out now. We have to end Citizens United, restore the power of the
people, end gerrymandering, strengthen our ethics rules, and restore
access to the ballot box. That means passing our For The People Act
that was blocked multiple times in this Chamber, passing the John R.
Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, restore the Voting Rights Act of
1965, and passing the Freedom to Vote Act.
This is not a partisan issue; this is an American issue about
protecting our democracy, protecting our people, protecting our
communities, and protecting our planet.
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Mr. Speaker, let's do the right thing. Let's ban stock trading and
restore our faith in American democracy.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I will take a second to thank all of my
colleagues on both sides who came out tonight. This is a busy week in
Congress. We have got reconciliation markups going on. Peoples'
schedules are busy, but the fact that we have so many Members from both
sides of the aisle who have the courage to stand up and say something
that may not be popular with everyone in this Chamber and have also
made it enough of a priority to come tonight is a great credit to each
of them. I thank them for their leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills),
who I know has also been a champion of this issue for some time now.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, I don't need a written speech or a prepared
document to say how common sense this is.
For far too long, people have basically turned politics into a career
which was never its intent. It was meant to serve we the people. There
is something that is mutually exclusive: You cannot serve yourself and
personal enrichment and serve the public at the same time.
We know for a fact that even within the National Defense
Authorization Act that you can get language put in, provided to you by
companies that allow for certain amounts of money to be sole sourced or
in some ways appropriated to defense companies that they can then turn
around and invest in.
How is that not insider trading when it is public knowledge on what
is out there, but not public knowledge on what is being put into the
NDAA during the markups?
Insider trading must stop. I can tell you that banning stock trading
for Members of Congress and their spouses should not be something that
is in question.
We must rebuild the actual image of Congress. We must rebuild the
image of the Federal Government, where we are actually here to truly
serve the people. I think this is a paramount step in us making sure,
with friends and colleagues like Representative Magaziner, we are able
to move forward and rebuild the trust, the hope, and rebuild this
institution to be what it once was.
Our Founding Fathers, many of them in the private sector, were very
successful businessmen. They served in an effort to try and get back to
their businesses because they actually made more money there, but it
has changed where people are making more money while in Congress while
stock trading than they can in the private sector.
The same way that a plan B for failed male athletes shouldn't be
women's sports, a plan B for failed entrepreneurs shouldn't be Congress
and stock trading.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I ask everyone to move forward
in guaranteeing that we rebuild the confidence in government and we
restore what it means to serve we the people.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Cleaver), a man I admire very much and a cosponsor of the
TRUST in Congress Act.
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear to me, while it may not
always come across your television, radio, or cell phone, I believe
that the overwhelming majority of Members of Congress are good and
decent people. Whether we agree on everything is not factored in on
what I just said.
Unfortunately, as polls continue to indicate, the American people
don't believe that that is the way it is. Congress right now is about
as popular as a soiled baby's diaper, and we are pushing it down
further by failing to hold ourselves accountable.
It is absolutely ridiculous that Members of Congress can sit in a
committee hearing room or get some information by just moving around
this city and then come in here and vote on something that would enrich
them.
This is wrong, and one of the reasons that you are not going to find
anybody else coming in here taking an opposite position is because they
are ashamed. If they are ashamed that means they know they are wrong.
If they know they are wrong, they ought to support this legislation or
tell the public I believe in enriching myself and I am not going to
support it.
Now, I represent a place that sometimes is referred to as ``Chiefs
Kingdom.'' I know some of you are probably offended because we win all
the time, but in the recent years, we are accustomed to seeing Andy
Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Chris Jones lead one of the greatest teams
in history. They won three championships overall, two in the last 3
years. They can pass. They can run. They can kick. They can play
defense, and they are not too shabby at their kicking game.
But there is one thing they cannot do, one thing that they cannot do
even as a Super Bowl champ: They cannot bet on football. They cannot
play football and then bet on who is going to win. They can, but then
they will get kicked out of the league.
That makes no sense. They could fall down. They could miss a pass on
purpose. There are all kinds of things they could do that are wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the opportunity to be just a tiny
voice in what is going on because this is right and not doing it is
wrong.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I come from New England where we also
know something about winning all the time, but we will keep it in
Missouri for now.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).
Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Rhode Island, and
I am honored to follow my friend from Kansas City, Reverend Emanuel
Cleaver.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with him. This is a bipartisan issue. Today, I
rise to introduce the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities
and Investments Act. My bill is complementary to Senator Josh Hawley
over in the Senate.
If you travel the Fourth District of the great State of Missouri,
just south of Reverend Cleaver's district in Kansas City, and you ask
the average person, Mr. Speaker, if Members of Congress should be able
to trade individual stocks, they will say no. That is not good for our
Nation. It is not good for this body. It is not good for rebuilding
trust in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
The reason we introduced this is because there have been widespread
reports of suspicious transactions associated with public officials and
it raises a lot of concerns about what we are doing here in this great
body.
If you want to run for the U.S. House of Representatives or you want
to serve the people, Mr. Speaker, that is fine. If you want to trade
stocks, then go to Wall Street.
I am the chair of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations
Subcommittee for the Small Business Committee, I am concerned about
Main Street. I am concerned about the 772,047 individuals that I
represent. That is what we should be here about, not trying to get rich
on trading stocks.
My bill is bicameral. It is bipartisan. As I said before, it is led
in the Senate by Senator Josh Hawley. President Trump has announced
that he will support this legislation to make this law. He will sign it
into law.
Today, Speaker Johnson indicated his support for the underlying
policy and the Members gathered here tonight prove that this is a
bipartisan mission, to right the ship, to get us back on the right
track.
This legislation has workable compliance deadlines. It allows trading
in broad-based index and mutual funds and requires real enforcement. It
has teeth with substantial penalties for violations. As public
servants, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, Mr. Speaker,
and avoid the mere appearance of corruption and impropriety.
Unfortunately, too many Members of Congress are engaging in
suspicious stock trades based on nonpublic information to enrich
themselves. These gross violations of the public trust make it clear:
We must finally take action and take a stand to ban Members and their
spouses from owning or selling individual stocks.
It is simple. Public service should never be a pathway to private
wealth, especially when everyday Americans are struggling. This is
about rebuilding trust in what we do.
Congress works for the people, not to enrich our bank account. I am
proud to join my colleagues tonight on the other side of the aisle. It
is kind of refreshing to have something that we
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agree on, but we agree that America comes first, our constituents come
first, and we, as servant leaders, should come last.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for holding this Special Order
hour.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Deluzio).
Mr. DELUZIO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the leadership from the
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner) and the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Roy) for bringing us together tonight.
Mr. Speaker, imagine that, Democrats and Republicans in this Chamber,
in this town, wanting to do something about corruption. That is a good
thing. I hope the American people are paying attention.
I will tell you it is clear from conversations with my constituents
in western Pennsylvania, and I know from people all over this country,
they think our system is rigged: rigged against hardworking people,
rigged for giant corporations and the rich and the powerful. That kind
of corporate power doesn't just happen. It is enabled by pliable
politicians and by a Supreme Court that opens the floodgates to
unlimited super-PAC money that corrupts our elections.
We should fight that. If you want to fight corruption, let's start
with getting that unlimited corporate money out of our politics.
You have to have some credibility and this Chamber, this town, this
Congress, needs more credibility. One way to build that back is to
start with banning congressional stock trading. I think it is an easy
place to start. You talk to people in western Pennsylvania, you talk to
people all over this country who think it is ridiculous that folks in
power and elected office get rich off the inside and sensitive
information that we learn in our jobs serving the people, representing
the people who elect us.
No one should be using that information to enrich themselves, to get
rich off of public trust. I am proud to be here in a bipartisan
fashion, joining with Members of both parties who support this
commonsense, anticorruption idea.
Let's ban congressional stock trading. Wherever we see corruption, we
should be calling it out. We should be fighting it. We should take it
on. Our democracy turns on public trust and people having some faith in
their elected Representatives.
{time} 1900
What we are railing against here, Members trading stock based on
information we learn, that erodes that public trust. Let's be smart.
Let's come together. Let's call out this corruption for what it is.
I again commend the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner) and
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy) for bringing us together.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Kim).
Mrs. KIM. Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress are here to serve their
constituents and the American people; not themselves. Unfortunately, we
see this year after year with Members of Congress making lucrative
stock trades while their constituents struggle to make ends meet.
We must restore public trust in this body, and that starts with each
of us in this Chamber. There is no reason why Members of Congress
should be able to trade stocks while in office, period. American
taxpayers deserve better.
That is why I am proud to have helped introduce the TRUST in Congress
Act. This bipartisan bill would prohibit Members of Congress, in
addition to their spouses and children, to trade stocks while in
office.
This isn't rocket science. This is common sense. Let's just restore
trust back in Congress.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Kim very much for her
comments.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).
Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress should not be allowed to
trade stock. This should be a no-brainer. Members of Congress should
not be allowed to profit off of their service. When Members are in a
position of directly benefiting from the manipulation of the stock
market, and they profit off of their position, it is corruption, plain
and simple.
Just last month, numerous Members and Cabinet officials profited off
of Donald Trump's tariff chaos announcement. This should not be
acceptable. I know a majority of Americans agree. Nearly 90 percent
support a ban.
Every time a Member cashes in, it undermines public trust. That is
why I have always supported a ban for elected officials and their
families, because exploiting inside information to enrich yourself
should never be allowed. It is time we come together to stop this
corruption and pass an immediate stock trading ban.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota
for her remarks. I now yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms.
Ansari), a new Member who has come in and has already been making a
mark. I know she is here with the intent of being a reformer, which is
what we need in Congress.
Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of long-overdue
legislative measures to prevent Members of Congress from trading stock.
The original STOCK Act passed in 2012 bars a Member of Congress, the
President, Vice President, and high-level staff from engaging in
insider trading or otherwise using nonpublic information for their own
benefit. The bill also included important updates to financial
transparency by requiring these high-ranking government officials to
quickly disclose financial transactions to the public.
In fact, it is because of this bill's provision that we know that
Members of both parties are still consistently able to use nonpublic
information to benefit their own stock portfolios.
Incidents like these break our trust with the American people, with
our constituents. That is why I am so proud to cosponsor Congressman
Magaziner's TRUST in Congress Act. This bill would require Members of
Congress and their immediate family members to divest from individual
stock holdings or place them into a qualified blind trust during their
entire tenure in Congress.
In practice, it would ban Members of Congress from trading stocks.
This is just common sense. Members of Congress should be prohibited
from using nonpublic information for our own benefit.
Polling has shown that nearly 86 percent of Americans support barring
Members of Congress from trading stock, so this should be easy and it
should be bipartisan. The TRUST in Congress Act and bills like it would
prevent corruption and restore trust in Congress.
Before I was sworn in to Federal office, I made a personal effort to
sell stocks that I had and to ensure that my financial future would not
and could not be dependent on information that I might become privy to
as a Member of the House of Representatives.
It is about more than following a set of rules. It is about acting
ethically and respecting the power of the offices we hold.
In a time where the President of the United States is expected to
accept a plane worth hundreds of millions of dollars from a foreign
nation, respecting a moral code and setting a strong example could not
be more important. I am heartened to see my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle standing in support of this issue.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Ansari for her thoughts on
this matter. Before I yield to the next Member, let me just preface
this by saying, again, we have had a big couple of weeks in this fight
to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks.
Not only rank-and-file Members, but leaders have been coming out in
favor of this commonsense reform: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries,
today Speaker Johnson, and President Trump.
I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), a leader who has
been out in front on this issue for a long time. Our Assistant
Democratic Leader is a longtime cosponsor of the legislation that I
have reintroduced to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost let me thank my
distinguished colleague from Rhode Island, whose clarion call on this
issue, his demand to an end of corruption, an end
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to this outrageous practice of stock trading by Members of Congress,
has inspired many of his colleagues who have joined the coalition that
he is building in real time. I couldn't be more grateful to
Representative Magaziner for his leadership and for championing this
issue at such a critical time. I am grateful to be a partner with him
in this effort.
Our 26th President, Teddy Roosevelt, once said that no man who is
corrupt, no man who tolerates corruption in others can do his duty by
the community. That admonition rings true today.
Four years ago, I led an effort to ban stock trading by Members of
Congress, joined with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. For 4
years, we have tried to convince this Chamber to ban Members of
Congress from trading stocks. Why? Members of Congress should be
serving their communities, their constituents, and their country, not
their stock portfolios.
In that 4-year span, 48 months, 1,400 days, how many millions of
dollars have Members of Congress in this body made from trading stocks?
It is unconscionable. It is a practice that should have ended years
ago. We have continued to beat that drum month after month, week after
week, day after day, and we will keep doing it until a majority in this
body joins the rest of the American people, the public in supporting a
ban to this insidious practice. I am grateful to Representative
Magaziner for continuing to beat that drum, leading the effort now over
the last 2 years.
It feels as though we are on the precipice, as Mr. Magaziner noted,
of finally getting traction in this Chamber to end this practice. The
one cautionary note I would offer, Mr. Speaker, is that in that 4-year
span, as I mentioned, this journey, this battle that we have waged,
again, colleagues of mine on both sides of the aisle to ban stock
trading, I have heard virtually every excuse in the book from some of
my colleagues: It is too complicated; there are competing bills; the
legislative text is complex.
This is very simple. Just ban it. Not 5 years from now, not next
year. Let's just put a bill on the floor to ban it, period. Members of
Congress will no longer be able to trade stocks, simple as that.
I hope, Mr. Speaker, that my colleagues will join me, join Mr.
Magaziner, join the coalition that has organized around this issue so
that we can finally get this done and end corruption here in
Washington.
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, as we get ready to close here tonight, I
thank my colleagues once again for their leadership on this issue and
their courage because, as was said earlier, the opponents of this stock
trading ban don't speak out publicly, but they are here, and they are
watching and listening, and they are probably not very happy with us
tonight.
It takes people of courage to be willing to stand up and say: We here
in Congress have to change. We have to change the way Congress works so
that we work for the American people and not for ourselves. We need to
end this corruption. We need to end this insider dealing. We need to
end congressional stock trading.
What you have seen tonight is that this is a bipartisan issue. We
have had people speak tonight from across the political spectrum who
had the courage to stand up for what is right and to stand up for what
the American people not only want but are demanding of us.
Make no mistake, this insider trading is happening. It is happening.
I have the statistics right here. In 2024, the average Member of
Congress outperformed the market by nearly 3 percent. Now, I used to
work in the investment business, and let me tell you, there are paid
professionals who do not have that kind of outperformance.
The year before that, the average Member of Congress also
outperformed the market, and the year before that, and the year before
that. The last 4 years in a row, Members of Congress who traded stocks
outperformed the market.
That is not a coincidence. One time, one year might be luck, but two,
three, four years in a row is a clear pattern of corruption that needs
to end. Members should not be allowed to trade off of inside
information and should not be conflicted when deciding how to vote on a
bill or whether to support a policy.
The American people support this overwhelmingly, and it is time to
get it done. I am feeling hopeful. Earlier this year, it was hard to
get people to pay attention to this issue. It was hard to get media
coverage. It was hard to get Member support, but in the last month or
so, things have started to change. Leader Jeffries supports it; Speaker
Johnson supports it; President Trump supports it. People are starting
to notice. We are building momentum.
I will end tonight with gratitude for those who started this journey
before I ever got to Congress. Former Members, like Abigail Spanberger
and Ken Buck, have pushed for this for years. We are now building off
of their work. I have the TRUST in Congress Act that I have been
leading with Mr. Roy. We have got a few other Members who have
introduced their own versions. Those of us who have various versions of
a stock trading bill are now working together to develop a consensus
bill that we can all get behind and push together, and we are getting
close.
The excuses for inaction are running out fast. The excuses for
inaction are running out. The American people want this. It is the
right thing to do. Let's get it done.
Once again, I thank my colleagues from both sides who have had the
courage to stand up tonight in support of a stock trading ban. The time
is now. Let's get it done.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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