House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that a bill aiming to restrict lawmakers from buying and selling stocks will be put to a vote in the House this month. This follows months of discussion about the need to regulate the financial activities of members of Congress to avoid conflicts of interest.
The announcement comes after a New York Times analysis revealed that between 2019 and 2021, numerous representatives and senators, or their family members, engaged in stock trades that could be linked to their committee assignments. While Pelosi described the upcoming legislation as "very strong," details remain scarce.
Despite Pelosi's earlier support for such legislation, progress has been slow. Several bills with varying approaches have been proposed in both the House and the Senate, some with bipartisan support. Representative Abigail Spanberger, a key sponsor of a bipartisan bill, expressed frustration over the delays, emphasizing the urgent need for action.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that Democrats would bring legislation to the House floor this month that would place new restrictions on the ability of lawmakers to buy and sell stocks.
Her announcement came after months of negotiations over whether and how to restrict personal financial activity by members of Congress that could create real or perceived conflicts of interest with their public duties. And it came a day after The New York Times published an analysis showing that between 2019 and 2021, 97 representatives and senators or their immediate family members had reported trades of stocks, bonds, or other financial assets that could have been influenced by committees they were serving on.
Ms. Pelosi declined to provide details of the legislative proposal other than to call it “very strong.”
“We believe we have a product that we can bring to the floor this month,” said Ms. Pelosi during her weekly news conference at the Capitol.
In the seven months since Ms. Pelosi first signaled her support for legislation to stiffen the curbs on congressional stock trading, there have been few signs of progress on legislation that could pass the House. A number of somewhat different bills have been proposed in both the House and the Senate, some with bipartisan support.
“For months, House and Senate leadership have promised action,” Representative Abigail Spanberger, Democrat of Virginia and a lead sponsor of one bipartisan proposal to rein in trading by lawmakers, said. “It’s long past time to move forward.”
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