House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday that Democrats would consider a stock trading ban for members of Congress, but that he was not sure that it was necessary because blatant insider trading is already illegal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reversed her opposition to a ban on stock trading by lawmakers, and other Democratic leaders signaled that they would consider a flood of new proposals to ban stock trading by lawmakers.
The congressman from Maine wrote a letter to Pelosi and McCarthy calling for them to ban stock trading on the floor. The bipartisan letter was signed by 27 lawmakers and included members from across the ideological spectrum.
This is an issue that I think is dealt with in the law. He referred to the case of Chris Collins, a Republican who resigned from Congress and was sentenced to several months in jail for insider trading.
He said that there is a law that says you cannot do what people are concerned about. Last week, Pelosi said blatant insider trading is a Justice Department issue.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was enacted in 2012 to ban Insider trading, and it requires both lawmakers and congressional staffers to report stock transactions in a timely manner.
According to a recent investigation by Insider, at least 54 current members of Congress and almost 200 senior congressional staffers have violated the law by failing to disclose their transactions on time. The law's enforcement is not consistent.
There are many examples of federal lawmakers trading stocks in industries they oversee as part of their congressional committee assignments, posing a potential conflict of interest.
A growing number of lawmakers have proposed banning stock trading by them.
McCarthy discussed the issue of a ban with donors recently at a Republican retreat, as recent polling shows that at least 67% of Americans support a ban.
The Committee on House Administration has been asked by Pelosi to review members compliance with the STOCK Act and consider the range of bills that have emerged.
There were reservations about the idea of a ban.
He wants to look at legislation that takes away from members the ability to make investments that we encourage in every other sector. I don't think it's necessary to do that because the current law covers what they want to preclude.
That was in line with Pelosi's initial position against a ban. She said in December that they should be able to participate.
I don't trade stock," he said once again. Period. He said that he did not trade stock.
A recent financial disclosure shows that the Maryland Democrat owns up to $1,000 worth of shares in Telkonet, a provider of energy-management technology. The office of the congressman did not respond to the request for comment.
Pelosi said last week that she was open to new legislation if it had the support of House members.
I think we will consider this, and we will see if the majority believe that we should preclude it altogether.
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