January 12, 2023
Today, U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), along with 35 of their colleagues, introduced a bipartisan bill requiring Members of Congress — as well as their spouses and dependent children — to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress, effectively banning them from trading individual stocks.
By establishing this new firewall between Members and their investments, the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act would make sure Members of Congress cannot use their positions in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate to unethically inform investment decisions, influence the value of their existing investments, or contribute to greater distrust between the American people and their elected officials.
“It is illegal for Members of Congress to knowingly trade, buy, or sell stocks based on inside information learned during the course of their jobs. And those who break the law or abuse their positions of power should be prosecuted and held to account,” said Schiff. “While Congress has no prosecutorial authority, we can remove even the appearance of a conflict by banning members from trading stocks. I’m proud to again introduce with my colleagues the TRUST in Congress Act to ban Members and their families from trading individual stocks.”
“We are long overdue for a vote on legislation to ban Members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks. Last Congress, we saw the TRUST in Congress Act receive the most bipartisan support of any effort to do so. We saw tremendous momentum, we saw growing support in our districts, and we saw growing recognition across the political spectrum that such a reform needs to be made now,” said Spanberger. “I’ve been proud to lead the charge on this issue, and I want to thank my colleague Congressman Roy for his continued partnership as we reduce potential conflicts of interest in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Our TRUST in Congress Act would demonstrate that lawmakers are focused on serving the interests of the American people — not their own stock portfolios.”
Original cosponsors of the TRUST in Congress Act include U.S. Representatives Scott Perry (R-PA-10), Jerry Nadler (D-NY-12), Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Dean Phillips (D-MN-03), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-07), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), Michael Cloud (R-TX-27), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05), Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Dan Kildee (D-MI-08), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03), Young Kim (R-CA-40), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Jared Golden (D-ME-02), Susan Wild (D-PA-07), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Pete Sessions (R-TX-17), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01).
The TRUST in Congress Act is endorsed by several advocacy and government accountability organizations across the political spectrum — including the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), National Taxpayers Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Public Citizen, Campaign Legal Center, Taxpayers for Common Sense, FreedomWorks, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Protect Democracy, Americans for Prosperity, Government Accountability Project, Issue One, PEER, Democracy12, Fix the Court, and ECU Action Fund.
“NTU is pleased to endorse the TRUST in Congress Act again, and we appreciate the ongoing leadership of this effort by Representatives Roy and Spanberger. Members of Congress hold privileged positions of power and access to classified information, and should not be able buy, sell, and trade individual stocks during their time of service,” said Andrew Lautz, Director of Federal Policy, National Taxpayers Union (NTU).
“When Members of Congress trade stocks while they’re receiving privileged information during hearings and closed-door briefings from industry leaders, they erode the public’s trust and create the appearance of corruption, something that is worth guarding against as much as corruption itself. That’s why Congress should ban Members and their immediate family members from trading individual stocks while in office. The TRUST in Congress Act is a commonsense solution that has received strong bipartisan support, and it’s time for our leaders to act and pass this bill into law,” said Nick Penniman, Founder & CEO, Issue One.
“Voters have a right to know whether their elected officials are focused on the needs of the public, or are prioritizing their own personal wealth. Based on how frequently and blatantly the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act is violated by members of Congress, it is obvious that the current situation is not working. By preventing Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from buying, trading, or selling individual stocks while in Congress, the TRUST in Congress Act will greatly improve this situation and restore public trust in government,” said Kedric Payne, Vice President, General Counsel, & Senior Director, Ethics, Campaign Legal Center.
“Banning Members from owning or trading individual stocks is a concrete step Congress can take to reduce corruption and begin to restore the public’s faith in their elected officials. We applaud Rep. Spanberger’s leadership on this issue and encourage members of both parties to work with her to get this done,” said Tiffany Muller, President, End Citizens United / Let America Vote Action Fund.
“The TRUST in Congress Act is bipartisan legislation sponsored by Reps. Spanberger and Roy prohibiting congressional stock trading activity. The legislation leads the drive for this commonsense ethics reform. The current system that allows members of Congress to buy and sell stocks in businesses they oversee from their congressional perches is ripe for insider trading abuses. Members frequently have access to business information that is not available to the public, and members are also in a position to affect those same business markets, which is why the public demands that congressional stock trading be banned altogether,” said Craig Holman, Government Affairs, Public Citizen.
“At a time when over 70 percent of Americans believe members of Congress hold an unfair advantage in the stock market, TPA applauds Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Rep. Chip Roy for reintroducing the TRUST In Congress Act. Requiring members to place securities, commodities, futures, and other comparable investments into qualified blind trusts while serving the American people is a strong step towards restoring the public’s faith in government,” said Patrick Hedger, Executive Director, Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA).
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