Joseph D. Morelle

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 9 wordsI yield myself such time as I may consume.Procedure Mr. Speaker, Claims · 29 wordsI suggest the gentleman from Missouri ought to read the bill before the House because everything he just said would not be cured by what he just talked about. Reasoning · 131 wordsIn fact, you may still, under this bill if it became law, and thankfully it will not, you could still own stock, Mr. Speaker. Let’s say you own Boeing stock and you happen to be on the Armed Services Committee or a Defense appropriator, Mr. Speaker, and you sort of say to Pentagon officials: Boy, I really like this equipment that Boeing is producing or Northrop Grumman if you happen to own them, or other companies, great companies, but you may own stock in the company. There are many ways for you, Mr. Speaker, to drive up that stock price and wait as the owner of that stock to manipulate the situation until the stock price rises and then you sell it. That is a trade. That is ownership of stock. Mr. Speaker, Reasoning · 18 wordsthat is the ability to influence stockholdings you have when you come to Congress. This doesn’t divest it. Positioning · 11 wordsThe gentleman made a great speech, and I really appreciate it.Positioning Claims · 46 wordsUnfortunately, it doesn’t have anything to do with what the bill does. Besides, Mr. Speaker, you can have private stock. There are reports that people have purchased private stock in companies that then became public that then were sold to public companies and made windfalls here.¹ Mr. Speaker, Reasoning · 8 wordsyou could still do that under this bill. Claims · 19 wordsYou can engage in crypto, Mr. Speaker. You can buy commodities, and you can participate in the prediction markets. Positioning · 101 wordsThe notion that somehow Americans should see this bill pass and relax and suddenly feel as if the people making public policy decisions in Washington suddenly won’t be doing anything in their self-interest but will, instead, be doing it in the interest of the American people--it is a word I used earlier--I contend, is exactly what this is.Unearned certainty It is a sham. This will not fix anything, and that is what it is intended to do, to not fix anything, but to make people believe that we have addressed it.Unearned certainty We haven’t addressed anything. That is not what this bill is.Positioning Mr. Speaker, Positioning · 53 wordswhen you add the element of really trying to subvert this election, there is nothing that argues for this bill. This isn’t even a partial way of getting it done. This is a diversion, and it is intended to get people to feel better about something when they shouldn’t feel better at all.Positioning Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 16 wordsI yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Ms.² Houlahan).Procedure