It’s time to ban congressional stock trading, once and for all. CREW and 10 groups sent a letter urging members of the House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive, bipartisan bill banning members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks, bonds or other similar financial investments. In early May, a bipartisan group of House members announced they had been meeting to coalesce around a proposal to ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks. We commend these lawmakers for their leadership and bipartisan collaboration on this crucial issue.

Suspiciously timed stock trades on both sides of the aisle have eroded public confidence that members of Congress are making decisions that are best for their constituents and not their own private interests. Public trust has been further damaged by Congress’s failure to pass a congressional stock trading ban, despite cross-partisan public support for this commonsense reform.

Whatever legislative proposal is announced should include all of the characteristics of a comprehensive, enforceable congressional stock trading ban. Not only should it prohibit members from owning or trading individual stocks or similar financial assets, it should also apply to members’ spouses and dependent children, make exceptions for only truly blind trusts and include a clear enforcement mechanism.

Leaders in the House have introduced multiple stock ban bills over recent years, reflecting a rare instance of bipartisan consensus in an otherwise deeply polarized institution. And in the Senate last Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers collaborated on a bill that included strong elements from many previous pieces of legislation introduced. Now, there is an opportunity for the House to come together to support a strong and comprehensive bipartisan bill, and begin to restore the public’s trust in Congress.

Read the letter here.

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