Congress breaks for midterm elections with stock trading bill in doubt. Good.
Congress breaks for midterm elections with stock trading bill in doubt. Good.
Bills to prohibit lawmakers from trading stocks while in office have been circulating throughout the past year — many with bipartisan support. Backers on both sides of the aisle seem to think that stock trading by members is part of why Congress’ trust and approval ratings are dismal and that outlawing the practice could help revive them.
Despite headlines to the contrary, there is little evidence that unlawful insider trading — misusing nonpublic information to trade stocks — is widespread on Capitol Hill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had suggested the House would consider such a bill before the end of September, specifically the Combatting Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government Act, which was released last week and would require lawmakers to either divest their stock holdings or place them into blind trusts. Days later, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D.-Md., announced the bill would wait until after the November midterm elections.
Putting the idea on hold was a good decision. Now let’s hope it’s buried for good.
It’s understandable that banning lawmaker trading polls well. The voting public is routinely confronted with stories about trading that raise questions about whether lawmakers are using their positions for financial gain. But prohibiting lawmakers from trading stocks isn’t the right response.
Rating: 5