Congress just passed two major Republican efforts in one bill. The Stop Insider Trading Act, meant to stop members of Congress from profiting from the stock market based on insider knowledge, included the SAVE America Act.
The legislation passed Wednesday evening, 232-198, with 13 Democrats joining Republicans to pass it.
The Stop Insider Trading Act bans sitting members of Congress and their immediate families from purchasing individual stocks from publicly traded companies. If they wish to sell shares, the bill requires that they file a public notice between 14 and seven days before the sale.
Republicans also managed to add language from the SAVE America Act, requiring voters to show valid identification when they vote.
Republicans say both issues are “90-10 issues” with Americans, meaning they have overwhelming bipartisan public support.
“Too often, Americans struggling to make ends meet have watched as lawmakers have entered office to leave as multimillionaires,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a House Republican Leadership press conference.
“There’s a handful of glaring examples. A couple of those people are still serving, notably on the Democrat side. … Democrats only talk about corruption; Republicans are actually delivering real solutions to restore the public’s faith in our institutions,” he continued.
However, some members of Congress claim this isn’t a strong enough ban on stock trading and won’t move in the Senate.
“It puts us a little closer to what we need, obviously, and I really don’t think it’s going anywhere in the Senate anyway,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters outside after the vote.
Burchett was originally skeptical of the legislation but said he voted to pass it after speaking with Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who introduced the legislation.
“I just don’t think we’re being genuine with the public about it, and we should ban stock trading by members of Congress. You should not own individual stocks—you ought to own a mutual fund,” Burchett said, telling members they should do it like he does.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, described the bill as a “big win.”
“I think this would be a giant step forward,” Roy told the Daily Signal after the vote, adding that he thinks attaching the SAVE America Act to the bill is going to hold it back in the Senate.
“This would allow you to maintain your portfolio when you come to Congress but then do like we do for SEC for publicly trading companies—you know, [with] seven days advance, say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go sell,’ and then not be able to buy any other equities, only broadly held funds. That would be a big change,” Roy said.
He added that he was glad to see many Democrats join Republicans to pass the legislation.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
