U.S. Rep Josh Riley, NY-19, announced Thursday he has joined a bipartisan coalition to end stock trading by members of Congress.
The coalition introduced the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks Act, legislation which would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and their dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, commodities or futures. Other sponsors of the bill are Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Joe Neguse (D-Colorado) and Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia).
“Upstate New York knows what it’s like to be sold out by greed on Wall Street and corruption in our politics,” Riley said. “That’s why I want to ban corporate PAC money from influencing our elections, impose term limits, and crack down on self-dealing in Congress. I’m proud to introduce the ETHICS Act to ban Members from trading stocks. If you’re in Congress, you should focus on serving the people, not yourself.”
According to the news release, the ETHICS Act “addresses widespread public concern that members of Congress may use non-public information gained through their positions to inform their personal stock trades.” Investigations and reporting have highlighted numerous instances of lawmakers trading in companies directly related to their work on congressional committees, and polling shows that 70% of voters support banning the practice, the release stated.
The legislation is designed “to eliminate these conflicts of interest and restore public trust,” the release stated. Key provisions of the act include:
• A ban on members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, or commodities;.
• A requirement for members to either divest (sell) their prohibited assets or place them into a highly regulated qualified blind trust;
• Strong penalties for violations, including fines equal to at least the member’s monthly pay.
“When it comes to owning and trading stocks, Members of Congress must be above reproach,” Kiggans said. “The ETHICS Act will ensure no Member of Congress can use their power and position to enrich themselves. When more and more Americans are losing trust in our institutions, including Congress, this bipartisan bill is one way we can begin to restore that trust.”
“When Members of Congress hold financial assets that stand to be affected by their own policy decisions, it creates not just the appearance, but often the reality, of a conflict of interest,” Krishnamoorthi said. “The ETHICS Act is the most comprehensive reform ever proposed to eliminate those conflicts and restore Americans’ trust that their elected representatives are working for the public good, not personal gain.”
The introduction of the ETHICS Act “is consistent with Congressman Riley’s broader focus on government reform,” the release stated. He has also co-sponsored the TRUST in Congress Act to ban stock trading, a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress (H.J. Res. 12), the Ending DOGE Conflicts Act to improve government transparency (H.R. 1321), and the Proxy Voting for New Parents Resolution to reform House rules (H. Res. 23), according to the release.
