Pass the ETHICS Act to finally ban Congressional stock trading!

A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) unveiled a new proposal on Tuesday morning that would ban members of Congress, along with the President and Vice President, from buying and selling stocks and other assets while in office. It’s called the ETHICS Act. The proposal comes after years of increased attention on congressional stock trades. Nearly a hundred members of Congress between 2019 and 2021 or their close relatives made trades in industries impacted by their legislative committee work, a New York Times investigation found. Some investors even copy the stock trades of politicians who are highly successful in the market, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The new proposal would amend the STOCK Act passed in 2012, which requires financial disclosure forms to be filled out by members of Congress and fines them if they fail to comply. The new bill would ban both members of Congress as well as the President and Vice President from buying and selling securities, commodities, futures, and other assets, according to a summary of the legislation provided by Merkley’s office. Starting in March of 2027, the bill would also require elected officials and their close family members (spouses and dependent children) to divest their assets. The fine for noncompliance with disclosure requirements would also increase from $200 to $500.  Additional fines, scaled to monthly salary or 10% of the value of the assets in question, would be imposed if an officeholder failed to divest from certain kinds of assets covered by the bill. The American people strongly support a bill like this and so do I. Please co-sponsor it and push for its passage. Thanks!