Following Hearing on Congressional Stock Trading Ban, Representative Angie Craig Joins Bipartisan Group Urging House Committee to Take Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig joined a group of nearly 20 bipartisan Members of Congress in urging House Leadership to take action to advance legislation to ban members of Congress from trading or selling individual stocks. In a letter to House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren and Ranking Member Rodney Davis, the Members outlined three core provisions for future legislation banning stock ownership.

The letter follows a hearing last week in which the committee heard strong testimony in support of a stock trading ban for members of Congress and their immediate families.

"We write today to urge your committee to advance strong legislation to ban members of Congress from directly owning or trading stocks while in office," wrote the lawmakers. "While we are encouraged that the Committee on House Administration has held a hearing on this issue, we urge you to swiftly follow up on this hearing with a markup to advance bipartisan legislation, such as the TRUST in Congress Act or the Ban Conflicted Trading Act."

Since she was elected, Representative Craig has worked to reform the way Washington works. Craig has been a leader in the effort to ban stock trading for sitting Members of Congress – and introduced legislation to impose a lifetime ban on Members working as registered lobbyists after their time in office. In 2019, she introduced an amendment to the annual spending bill blocking House Democrats from enacting a pay raise for Members of Congress. Craig also introduced and enacted into law the Payment Integrity Information Act, which helps to address improper and wasteful payments that totaled more than $175 billion in 2019 alone.

In addition to calling for a markup of the bipartisan legislation to ban members from trading or selling individual stocks, the group laid out several core provisions needed to ensure future legislation would be effective:

1. A ban on direct ownership and trading of individual stocks by members' spouses and dependent children.
2. No exceptions for stocks acquired prior to entering Congress.
3. Effective enforcement of these rules with heavy fines.

Representative Craig was joined on the letter by Representatives Jared Golden (ME-02), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Marie Newman (IL-03), Greg Stanton (AZ-09), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Susan Wild (PA-07), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Jason Crow (CO-06), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01), Andy Levin (MI-09) and Darren Soto (FL-09).

"Americans across the political spectrum support banning members of Congress from trading stocks," the lawmakers concluded. "If we seek to write off their concerns with a toothless gimmick, they will see through it and continue to mistrust their elected officials. We stand ready to work with you on a bipartisan proposal as it moves through the legislative process."

You can find the full text of the letter copied below.

Dear Chair Lofgren and Ranking Member Davis,

We write today to urge your committee to advance strong legislation to ban members of Congress from directly owning or trading stocks while in office. While we are encouraged that the Committee on House Administration has held a hearing on this issue, we urge you to swiftly follow up on this hearing with a markup to advance bipartisan legislation, such as the TRUST in Congress Act or the Ban Conflicted Trading Act.

It is important that your committee advance not just any form of legislation, but one that makes a ban unambiguous and without loopholes. To do this, we believe that legislation advanced by your committee to ban members from owning and trading stocks, outside of holding them in a blind trust, needs to contain the following provisions:

1. Ban direct ownership and trading of individual stocks by members' spouses and dependent children. A "ban" on stock trading by members of Congress that allows unfettered trading by their spouses is meaningless. Married couples routinely manage their assets together, and a member of Congress could escape a stock trading ban by just giving tips to their spouse. Similarly, such a ban should extend to members' dependent children. They will have plenty of time to play with stocks when they're financially independent.
   
2. No exceptions for stocks acquired prior to entering Congress. Some have proposed that members should be allowed to hold onto stocks they owned before entering Congress and keep them for the duration of their time in office. While members would therefore be prohibited from trading these stocks while in office, they would still have an incentive to see those stocks growing in value. This creates a serious conflict of interest and should not be allowed to continue. At the very least, stocks owned before entering Congress must be moved to a qualified blind trust.
   
3. Effective enforcement of these rules with heavy fines. As recent reports of widespread violations of the STOCK Act have demonstrated, it's not enough to just have rules on paper. They must be backed up by effective enforcement, including significant fines to deter and punish violations.

Americans across the political spectrum support banning members of Congress from trading stocks. If we seek to write off their concerns with a toothless gimmick, they will see through it and continue to mistrust their elected officials. We stand ready to work with you on a bipartisan proposal as it moves through the legislative process.

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