Thirty-seven lawmakers hope a bill aimed at preventing insider trading by members of Congress will be attractive for the third time.
The Transparent Representative Support Service and Act of Congress (TRUST) was first introduced in June 2020 and returned to the House floor in January 2021. But nothing more.
Do not miss it
On January 12, Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Chip Roy of Texas joined a bipartisan coalition of 35 co-sponsors to reintroduce the bill.
“We’ve seen tremendous momentum and growing support in our districts and we’re on the political spectrum that such reforms need to happen now,” Spanberger said in a statement. I have seen an increase in awareness across the board.
“Our TRUST in Congress Act shows that Congress is focused on serving the interests of the American people, not their stock portfolios.”
Issues that TRUST tries to solve
If TRUST is passed, it would effectively prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and children from trading individual stocks and force their investment assets to be placed in blind trusts.
The bill is intended to address the advantage politicians have of insider contacts about new legislation that may affect companies and industries.
These insights aren’t clairvoyant, but they certainly are an advantage when it comes to trading on the stock market.
A survey commissioned last year by the conservative advocacy group Convention of States Action found that more than 75% of voters believe lawmakers have an unfair advantage in the deal, and these sentiments are not unfounded. is not.
And according to a Business Insider report, 72 members of Congress didn’t report their financial transactions, as required by the 2012 Parliamentary Knowledge Shutdown Act.
But a much larger study by The Wall Street Journal last year found thousands of Washington officials participating in ethically gray deals.
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TRUST would reduce that by requiring senior officials and others affected by the bill to either sell their holdings when they take office in Congress or place their transactions in blind trusts they have no control over. We aim to
However, you can buy diversified ETFs, diversified mutual funds, and US Treasury bills, notes, or bonds.
Roy told Fox Business, “Americans are sick and tired of seeing lawmakers making big profits voting on the very policies that affect the companies they meet regularly. ‘ said.
Not the first bill on this issue
The proposed bill is similar to a bill introduced by Democrats last September called “Fighting Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government,” which aims to limit conflicts of interest in investing in politicians and their families. increase.
But the bill, which was backed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was heavily criticized by both sides of the House for missing teeth and loopholes built into the blind trust requirements.
Spanberger blamed the House Control Committee for introducing “a package of kitchen sinks that you know will break as soon as you arrive” days before Congress ended.
But with more co-sponsors than ever before, Spanberger and Roy are optimistic they can pass TRUST and rebuild trust with the American public.
In an interview with Fox Business, Roy said, “We’re doing something to stop the betrayal of trust that is obvious to the American people, that you’re doing day trading when you’re supposed to be working for the American people. I need to,” he said. .
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