(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, has co-introduced a bill to prevent members of Congress from trading stocks.
The Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act requires all members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children to put their stocks in a qualified blind trust or divest the holding. In doing so, Kelly’s office said this ensures members and their family members cannot use inside information to influence trades and profit off those transactions.
“As Americans work hard to keep up with rising costs, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether their elected representatives are using inside information to make a quick buck,” said Kelly in a press release. “This isn’t rocket science; the only way to stop insider trading in Congress is to stop members of Congress from trading stocks. Period.”
Kelly said he believes he already has the support of the American people.
Pointing to a survey by the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, Kelly said 86% of Americans back such a measure. That includes 88% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 81% of Independents.
“Fixing this would go a long way toward restoring trust — and fixing what’s broken in Washington,” said Kelly.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, also introduced the bill. Ossoff said members of congress have “extraordinary access to confidential information” at the same time they are making federal policy. Because of this, Ossoff said members of Congress should not be playing the stock market.
“Stock trading by members of Congress massively erodes public confidence in Congress and creates a serious appearance of impropriety, which is why we should ban stock trading by members of Congress altogether,” said Ossoff.
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, and Michael Bennet, D-Colorado. Bennett, who is running for governor of Colorado, said it is “common-sense legislation.”
Kelly has already placed his assets in qualified blind trusts, released his official Senate schedule and refused corporate PAC contributions for his campaign.
