Lawmakers call for markup on stock trading ban before August recess

A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers on Thursday urged the House Administration Committee to hold a markup on a stock trading ban for members of Congress before the August recess. 

Lawmakers have unveiled several proposals to prohibit lawmakers from buying and selling individual stocks, but congressional leaders in both parties haven’t prioritized them, even though voters overwhelmingly support a ban.

“It has been clear from the public response to the aforementioned legislative proposals that the American people would like — and expect — the Congress to act. We must do more to restore public trust, and we believe this would be an important step in doing so,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) wrote in a letter to the committee.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who recently unveiled a bipartisan proposal to ban congressional stock trading along with Freedom Caucus members Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.), was among those signing the letter. 

The continued push, first reported by Punchbowl News on Thursday, comes after several members of Congress traded bank stocks around the time of the banking crisis. 

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) bought up to $15,000 in New York Community Bancorp stock shortly after meeting with federal regulators on the Signature Bank failure. The stock shot up the next trading day after regulators announced the New York bank would acquire Signature Bank assets at a discount.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) sold up to $15,000 in Silicon Valley Bank shares one day before federal regulators shut the bank down.  

Lawmakers have introduced a number of proposals that would require lawmakers to divest from their investments or put their stocks in a blind trust. 

The issue first captured the nation’s attention when former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) sold up to $1.7 million in stocks just before COVID-19 hit the U.S. and the market crashed. Support for a ban picked up after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose husband is a frequent trader, said she wouldn’t support one. 

Pelosi later reversed course, but the bills never moved. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) accused House Democratic leaders of slow-walking a stock trading ban, and it hasn’t moved any faster under Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).