Congresswoman joins two bipartisan bills to prevent insider trading and strengthen accountability for Members of Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today announced that she will co-sponsor the TRUST in Congress Act and the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, bills that would help prevent insider trading by members of Congress and improve government transparency and accountability.
The TRUST in Congress Act was introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) and Chip Roy (TX-21) and would require members of Congress to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress. The bill would also apply to the member's spouse and dependent children to help make sure elected officials can't use their office for personal financial gain. The Ban Conflicted Trading Act was introduced by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) and would bar Members and senior staff from buying or selling individual stocks without impacting their ability to hold widely-held investments, such as diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
"Using privileged or classified information to make money for yourself is the cut-and-paste definition of corruption. If you're a Member of Congress, you can't abuse your position to get rich – period," said Slotkin. "We're at a moment when trust in our government has never been more important, and it has also never been harder to come by. In recent years there have been too many instances of corrupt insider trading that have continued to erode confidence in our government. These bills lay out bipartisan, common-sense ways to help restore that trust and eliminate even the whiff of impropriety in Congress. I know there are plenty of Members against this kind of action, but the Speaker should bring these bills to the floor for a vote immediately."
Since assuming office in January 2019, neither Slotkin nor her husband have ever executed an individual stock trade.
The TRUST in Congress Act has been endorsed by many key advocacy and government accountability organizations, including the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Public Citizen, Government Information Watch, Protect Democracy, Government Accountability Project, FreedomWorks, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Issue One, Open the Government, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Americans for Prosperity, and Democracy 21.
The TRUST in Congress Act would:
- Require all Members of Congress, and their spouses and dependent children, to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust within 90 days after the enactment of this legislation. New Members of Congress, and their spouses and dependent children, would be required to place covered investments into a qualified blind trust within 90 days of assuming office. Affected individuals can remove assets from the blind trust 180 days after the Member leaves Congress.
- Require all Members to either 1) certify to the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate that they have established a blind trust to include covered investments or 2) certify to the Clerk or the Secretary that they do not own any covered investments. The status of these certifications would be made publicly available by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate.
- Define covered investments as the following: a security, commodity, future, or any comparable economic interest acquired through synthetic means such as the use of a derivative. Exemptions would include a widely held investment fund (such as a mutual fund) or a U.S. Treasury bill, note, or bond. These investments would not have to be placed in a blind trust.
- Bar members of Congress and senior congressional staff—who often have advance notice of investigations, hearings, and legislation that can impact stock prices, or can move markets by hinting at policy changes—from buying or selling individual stocks and other investments, and from serving on any corporate boards, while in office.
- New members would be allowed to sell individual holdings within six months of being elected, and sitting members of Congress would be allowed to sell individual holdings within six months after enactment of the bill. Alternatively, members of Congress could choose to hold existing investments while in office—with no option for trading until they leave office—or transfer them to a blind trust. Members of Congress would still be allowed to hold widely-held investments, such as diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
Original source can be found here.
