Pennsylvania Takes Lead in Effort to Address Congressional Stock Trading
Pennsylvania is taking the lead in the effort to address congressional stock trading concerns. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania is spearheading the charge by putting forward the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act once again for the new legislative session. Joining him in this effort are Republican Cory Mills from Florida, as well as Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York and Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois.
The main objective of this renewed push is to put an end to stock trading by members of Congress. Fitzpatrick emphasized the importance of having leaders who are accountable, transparent, and focused on serving the public rather than their own stock portfolios. He highlighted that in 2022, members of Congress beat the S&P 500 by an astonishing 17.5%.
The proposed legislation aims to build upon the STOCK Act of 2012, which the sponsors of this bill argue has been violated by one in seven members of Congress. The new bill seeks to completely ban legislators, along with their spouses and dependents, from engaging in trading activities. Currently, the STOCK Act prohibits members of Congress from using privileged information for personal financial gain.
Fitzpatrick revealed that between 2019 and 2021, 97 members of Congress traded stocks related to industries that their committees oversee. An analysis by trading news site Unusual Whales uncovered that a significant portion of Congress actively traded assets totaling up to $788 million through over 12,700 transactions in 2022.
Mills expressed concerns about elected officials profiting from practices that would typically result in prison sentences for everyday Americans engaging in insider trading. This bipartisan effort aims to address these issues and ensure greater accountability and transparency in Congress moving forward.
