WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed banning stock trading by members of Congress, giving additional momentum to an idea that’s being pushed by progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans alike.
“We have different bills from a variety of different members and I’ve asked our members to get together and try to come up with one bill,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday when asked if he’d like to see a stock trading ban on the Senate floor this year. “But I would like to see it done.”
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he hasn’t yet given much thought to banning securities trading, though he added that he has invested in mutual funds rather than individual stocks.
“That’s what I advise members to do because I think it prevents such suggestions that you are engaged in insider trading,” he said. “We’ll take a look at that kind of legislation and see what may be appropriate.”
Proposals to ban lawmakers from holding individual securities have percolated in Congress for several years without getting very far. Yet over the past several weeks, in the wake of revelations about tardy disclosures by members and stock trading by Federal Reserve officials, Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have proposed new legislation.
Schumer’s backing puts him at odds with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who favors disclosure of trades but opposes a ban. She asked the Committee on House Administration to examine compliance with the current law and possibly stiffen penalties.
Current law prohibits members of Congress, and other government employees, from using nonpublic information gleaned in the course of their duties for personal benefit and requires disclosure of securities trades by members, spouses or dependent children of more than $1,000. Critics say the law is too easily skirted, the disclosure requirements too loosely enforced and the penalties too lenient.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat spearheading one such effort, said Tuesday he wants to collect feedback from colleagues on his bill by the end of the week in hopes of getting prompt Senate consideration.
“This is like a five-page bill,” Ossoff said in an interview. “This is not complex. So let’s hammer it out. Let’s put it on the floor in the next few weeks. Let’s keep it moving.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat who is working with Ossoff on the bill, however cautioned against moving too quickly.
“I think it’s more important to get it right than to get things done based on an arbitrary timeline,” Kelly said.
Other Senate Democrats who have pushed a ban on stock trading by senior government officials include Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Republicans who have introduced their own versions include Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
House members supporting a stock ban include an eclectic mix that includes progressive Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Pramila Jayapal of Washington State, moderate Democrats like Jared Golden of Maine and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia as well as Republicans such as Chip Roy of Texas and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
