KINGSTON, N.Y. — U.S. Rep. Josh Riley has teamed with, among others, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to push a House bill that would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, commodities, or futures, according to his office.
Riley, D-Ithaca, is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation known as the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, his office said Thursday.
“Upstate New York knows what it’s like to be sold out by greed on Wall Street and corruption in our politics,” said Riley, who represents the 19th Congressional District, in a statement. “That’s why I want to ban corporate PAC money from influencing our elections, impose term limits, and crack down on self-dealing in Congress.”
“If you’re in Congress, you should focus on serving the people, not yourself,” Riley said.
Riley’s office said the ETHICS Act addresses widespread public concern that members of Congress may use non-public information gained through their positions to inform their stock trades.
“Investigations and reporting have highlighted numerous instances of lawmakers trading in companies directly related to their work on congressional committees, and polling shows that 70% of voters support banning the practice,” the office said in a news release.
The legislation is designed to eliminate conflicts of interest and restore public trust.
The release said key provisions of the act include a ban on members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, or commodities; a requirement for members to either divest (sell) their prohibited assets or place them into a highly regulated trust; and strong penalties for violations, including fines equal to at least the member’s monthly pay.
“When it comes to owning and trading stocks, Members of Congress must be above reproach,” said GOP U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia in the release. “The ETHICS Act will ensure no Member of Congress can use their power and position to enrich themselves. When more and more Americans are losing trust in our institutions, including Congress, this bipartisan bill is one way we can begin to restore that trust.”
The introduction of the ETHICS Act is on par with Riley’s broader focus on government reform, his office said.
But unlike a similar Senate bill, the House bill does not apply to the president or vice president.
On Wednesday, July 30, President Donald Trump lashed out at GOP Sen. Josh Hawley after the Republican’s proposal to ban stock trading by members of Congress — and the president and vice president — won bipartisan approval to advance in a committee vote.
Trump called Hawley a “second-tier Senator” who was playing into the hands of Democrats. “I don’t think real Republicans want to see their President, who has had unprecedented success, TARGETED, because of the ‘whims’ of a second-tier Senator named Josh Hawley!” Trump said.
GOP senators had been working with the White House on the stock trade bill, and some supported a broad carve-out to exclude the president from the ban, but it failed, with Hawley joining Democrats to block it. Trump complained that Hawley joined with Democrats to block another amendment that would have investigated the stock trades of Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker emerita, and her spouse. Paul Pelosi has been a much-watched trader, but Pelosi’s office said she personally does not own stock.
One Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said the overall bill is “legislative demagoguery.”
“We do have insider trading laws. We have financial disclosure. Trust me, we have financial disclosure,” Johnson said. “So I don’t see the necessity of this.”
But Hawley’s legislation with the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, sailed out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, after his support delivered a bipartisan vote over the objections of the other Republicans, who have majority control.
Stock trading by members of Congress has long been an issue that the parties have tried to tackle, especially as some elected officials have become wealthy while in elected office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, it was disclosed that lawmakers were trading as information about the health crisis became known. Insider trading laws don’t always apply to the types of information lawmakers receive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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