Alabama Republican Sen Tommy Tuberville told The Independent that efforts to restrict members of Congress from trading stocks, saying it would discourage certain people from serving in politics.
“I think it's ridiculous. They might as well start sending robots up here,” he told The Independent. “I think it would really cut back on the amount of people that would want to come up here and serve.”
Mr Tuberville’s remarks come as momentum builds to restrict members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed some openness to legislation. Multiple Senators, including some Republicans, have proposed legislation banning the practice.
“I’ve been surprised since I’ve been up here, we got people sleeping in their offices,” he said.
Insider reported recently that Mr Tuberville, a former football coach for Auburn University, had violated the STOCK Act, which prevents members from using nonpublic information they learn in their official capacity for personal benefit, a whopping 132 times, accounting for $894,000.
Sen Richard Burr, who was one of just a few senators to oppose the STOCK Act’s prohibition on members trading stocks with nonpublic information, came under investigation last year after he sold $1.6m worth of stock after being briefed on the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020; the trades involved industries that took major financial hits as a result of the pandemic. The Justice Department announced in January that it would not file charges against him.
John Bowden contributed reporting.
