House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Democrats will introduce a bill to the House this month that would place new limits on lawmakers’ ability to buy and sell stocks.
Her announcement comes after months of negotiations over whether and how to limit personal financial activities by lawmakers that could create an actual or perceived conflict of interest with their official duties. And, between 2019 and 2021, the New York Times found that 97 House members and senators, or their immediate family members, had no stocks, bonds, or other items potentially affected by the commission. It came a day after it released an analysis showing it reported trading in financial assets. I am serving
Pelosi declined to provide details of the legislative proposal, other than to say it was “very strong.”
Speaking at her weekly press conference at the Capitol, Pelosi said:
Seven months after Pelosi first voiced her support for a bill that would tighten restrictions on stock trading in Congress, there has been little sign of progress on the bill that could pass the House. rice field. Several somewhat different bills have been proposed in both the House and Senate, some with bipartisan support.
Our coverage of the investment world
This year’s stock and bond market declines have been painful and future developments remain difficult to predict.
- Navigation uncertainty: What should investors do about repeated head-twisting stock market turns? Nothing, says our columnist.
- college savings: The 529 plan is collapsing as the stock and bond markets rock. what does the family do? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are options.
- Persistent memetic strain: The frenzy that traders have flocked to on social media and boosted the stock prices of companies like GameStop can no longer be simply explained as a pandemic phenomenon.
- Junk Bond: Companies with lower credit ratings, whose debt is often referred to as “junk,” are now taking advantage of the opportunity to borrow more cash.
Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger said “House and Senate leaders have been pledging action for months,” and is the main sponsor of a bipartisan proposal to curb the deal by lawmakers. “It’s too late to move forward.”
The version of the House legislative framework outlined in a late-August memo reviewed by The Times states that lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children should not be tied to individual stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, and certain It effectively prohibits the trading of other financial assets. enterprise.
Under the framework on which the current negotiations on the legislative proposal are based, members of Congress must sell their assets or transfer them to blind trusts over which they have no visibility or involvement. Investments in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other categories will continue to be permitted.
According to the memo, the new law will require more detailed transaction disclosures for permitted investments and tighten penalties for those who circumvent or violate the law, for example by narrowing the range of publicly disclosed asset values. .
“Congress can put a brake on these penalties, which will encourage compliance and result in tougher consequences for violations,” the memo said.
Members of the Supreme Court would also be subject to the same restrictions, according to the memo. So will senior congressional officials, according to House Democratic officials.
Congressional leaders have faced increasing pressure in recent months to crack down on the financial activities of their peers.running Investigation The website Insider, launched last year, revealed 72 cases of lawmakers who failed to comply with current law by submitting transaction reports late, inaccurately, or not at all.
a poll A survey conducted earlier this year showed that nearly two-thirds of respondents supported a blanket ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress.And public confidence in Congress is at its lowest 7 percent In June, many lawmakers are reluctant to ignore voters’ demands.
Noah Buchbinder, president of the Washington nonprofit Civic Responsibility and Ethics, said, “Congress is in an institutional legitimacy crisis. caused by reports that it appears to be profiting from Wednesday’s letter called for blanket restrictions on trading by members of Congress.
At a separate press conference on Tuesday, other House Democratic officials expressed confidence that new trading restrictions are on the way.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chair of the House Democrats’ group, said that California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who was tasked with drafting legislation that would allow Pelosi to gain widespread support, said: He said he hopes the bill will be introduced in the near future.
It’s not clear if the Senate will introduce legislation on the issue this year. Many senators are working on the proposal, but it appears they have yet to secure the 60 votes necessary for Senate passage.
Oregon Senator Jeff Markley, who is working on one of the proposals, said Wednesday, “I am determined to finally ban stock trading in Congress. I will fight this battle for 10 years.” I’ve been going on, but I’m not going to finish it.”