New legislation, presented on Monday by three congressional Democrats, could put an end to insider trading. This comes after several Senators sold their stocks shortly after a briefing on the coronavirus.
“The recent news reports have made it clear that it’s past time to end the potential conflicts of interest created by Members of Congress and their top staffers trading in stocks while making decisions affecting their values and receiving sensitive, nonpublic information through government service,” co-sponsor Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said.
“Our legislation will prevent members from trading individual stocks and holding positions on corporate boards to help ensure that Congress is working for the American people and not their own stock portfolios,” he continued.
“Members of Congress should not be allowed to buy and sell individual stock,” co-sponsor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added, “We are here to serve the public, not to profiteer.”
The Hill reports:
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced corresponding legislation in the Senate last year after securities fraud charges against then-Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who pleaded guilty and resigned last October.
The bill comes after reports surfaced that Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) all sold off stock following a January briefing on the threat of the virus but before the market began its downward plunge. Feinstein and Inhofe have both said they were not present for the briefing, while Burr said that his decision was based on public news reports and asked for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation.
Loeffler, meanwhile, has faced scrutiny after she and her husband, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, sold between $1.275 million and $3.1 million in stock between Jan. 24 and Feb. 14.
Loeffler has claimed she made the decision on the advice of financial advisers but Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), a close Trump ally challenging her for her Senate seat, accused her of “profiting off [the] pain” of those who have lost their jobs or retirement to the pandemic.
Personally, I think this would be a beneficial law. It is not fair for them to get insider information and rush to sell their stocks while the rest of us can’t see around the bend. Why are they so special to be privy to that knowledge when it comes to something like stocks?
Insider trading is already a no-no. This will basically just enforce it.
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