North Cook News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi joined with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) to introduce the bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, which bans Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependents from owning, trading, or selling financial investments on the stock exchange.

“I am proud to support this important legislation and to help continue to expand the bipartisan coalition in Congress to ban stock ownership and trading by Members of Congress,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “Members of Congress must be focused on their constituents, not their stock portfolios.”

“The fact that Members of the Progressive Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, reflecting the entirety of the political spectrum, can find common ground on key issues like this should send a powerful message to America,” Congressman Fitzpatrick said. “We must move forward on issues that unite us, including our firm belief that trust in government must be restored, and that Members of Congress, including their dependents, must be prohibited from trading in stocks while they are serving in Congress and have access to sensitive, inside information.  This is basic common sense and basic Integrity 101. And we all view this as a critical first step to return the House of Representatives back to the People. I thank Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Gaetz, and Krishnamoorthi for joining me in this effort.”

“The ability to individually trade stock erodes the public’s trust in government,” Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez said. “When Members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it. It’s really that simple.” 

“Members of Congress are spending their time trading futures instead of securing the future of our fellow Americans. We cannot allow the Swamp to prioritize investing in stocks over investing in our country,” Congressman Gaetz said. “As long as concerns about insider trading hang over the legislative process, Congress will never regain the trust of the American people. Our responsibility in Congress is to serve the people, not hedge bets on the stock market.”

"Elected officials should represent the interests of their constituents, not their own pocketbooks. It's a scandal that Members of Congress are still allowed to own and trade individual stocks while casting votes that move markets and transform economic sectors,"  Emma Lydon, Managing Director of P Street, the government affairs sister organization of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said. "The House should take swift action to pass this critical, bipartisan anti-corruption legislation to restore public trust in our democracy."

“When members of Congress own and trade stock in companies they regulate they undermine the democracy that they were elected to serve. It is Congress's duty to rebuild the trust that it has lost by banning members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning or trading stocks. And that is precisely what the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act does," Debra Perlin, Policy Director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said. "The Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act’s complete prohibition on Congressional stock ownership demonstrates that in our democracy the public's needs, rather than members’ stock portfolios, come first. CREW commends Rep. Fitzpatrick for his work on this issue and strongly encourages Congress to pass stock ban legislation as quickly as possible." 

You can read a copy of the full legislation here.

Original source can be found here.