37 former members of Congress call for ban on congressional stock trading

In a new letter released today, more than three dozen members of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus — the largest group of its kind ever assembled to fix our broken political system — are calling for bipartisan action to prohibit members and their immediate family members from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress.

“Congress has a unique opportunity right now to help restore public trust in the first branch. Members on both sides of the aisle, along with the American public, share concern over Members holding financial securities in companies that are directly affected by legislation under their control,” the letter states.

The STOCK Act has governed stock trading permissions for current members since its passage in 2012, but the law has proven to be an insufficient deterrent for insider trading, with a reported 50+ violations occurring in 2021 alone. Bipartisan action is now needed to reduce the appearance of corruption and insider trading.

“With prominent bipartisan support from leadership in both houses, a bipartisan bill from Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Chip Roy (R-TX) gaining support in the House, and a similar bill introduced by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in the Senate, there is clear, bipartisan momentum to limit the ability of Members to trade individual stocks while serving in Congress,” the letter goes on to say.

The letter comes at a critical time as a hearing before the Committee on House Administration, “Examining Stock Trading Reforms For Congress”, is scheduled for this Thursday, April 7.

“The moment has come to close loopholes and ensure Americans know their Members are working for them. The onus now rests on Members of both parties to come together and find the best possible solutions.”

Read the full letter.