It’s time to ban Congress from trading stocks & pass the ETHICS Act.
With trust in our institutions at an all-time low, ending this corrupt practice is an easy way to begin restoring faith in government.
What is the ETHICS Act?
The Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act prohibits members of Congress, spouses, and dependent minors from owning or trading securities, commodities, or futures. Members may divest or diversify their holdings into allowable assets such as mutual funds or ETFs, or place their assets in a qualified blind trust. It also includes financial penalties for continuing to hold or trade covered assets.
Why do we need it?
Members of Congress have influence over countless policies that move the market and they are uniquely positioned to know insider information. We don’t let referees bet on games they’re officiating, and it’s easy to see why. If they have a financial stake in the outcome, there’s no way we can trust them to make the right calls. So why do we let our representatives bet on the companies they’re supposed to be regulating?
Why not the existing STOCK Act or other legislation?
While insider trading is technically illegal, many observers say the laws we currently have on the books are not enough to stop it from happening. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act), which took effect in 2013, requires members of Congress to publicly disclose their stock trades (within 30-45 days). However, the law’s weak enforcement mechanisms make prosecution for insider trading difficult. And enforcement of the law is so lax that a recent report found as many as 78 members of Congress have violated the law—a transgression that only earns them a $200 fine if it’s enforced at all. It’s clear that more must be done to bolster Congressional ethics standards and increase public trust.
What you can do
Thousands of Americans have already written to their Members of Congress demanding that they end this corrupt practice and pass the ETHICS Act immediately.
The more they hear from their constituents, the more likely they are to act on this issue
The Facts
- 86% of Americans support a ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress, including 88% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans.1
- In 2023, members of Congress disclosed more than $1 billion in financial transactions last year, with the four most successful traders beating the S&P 500 index by more than 100%.2
- Of the top 10 most successful traders in Congress, five of them are Democrats and five of them are Republicans. This is a bipartisan problem.
[Watch Jon Stewart break down the issue]