Analysis · Speech on a bill · beta

Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat on Stop Insider Trading Act 2026-07-22

488 words · 37 sentences · 41 clauses

Statement grade

A–

Average 88 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Procedure 10%Claims 74%Positioning 10%The ask 6%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 8 wordsI yield myself the balance of my time.Procedure Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 6 wordsI will close by saying this.Procedure Claims · 39 wordsThe bill before us is a crude combination of two completely unrelated bills--the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act and the Voter ID Act. The Voter ID Act is, of course, already a crude reformulation of the SAVE America Act. Procedure · 9 wordsI have addressed both parts of the bill individually.Procedure Positioning · 13 wordsNeither of them deserves passage. Frankly, neither of them deserves much serious debate.Positioning Claims · 24 wordsThe first, the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act, is not a stock trading ban. Despite what everyone has said today, it simply is not.Unearned certainty The ask · 7 wordsGet the bill. Download it. Read it. Claims · 28 wordsIt doesn’t require people to sell stock that they own.¹ The bill is a vote to allow Members of Congress to continue to own and trade individual stocks. Procedure · 9 wordsI don’t know how to be clearer than that.ProcedureUnearned certainty Claims · 98 wordsThe bill would let Members of Congress keep every single share of stock they own.² The bill would allow Members to liquidate their holdings at any time, obviously when it is profitable for them. There is no divestiture required in this bill.³ The bill does nothing to rein in the unprecedented, absurd, and deeply offensive corruption currently taking place in the White House. The bill is silent on the President.⁴ I would note again that so far this year, the President has traded more securities than the entire Congress combined, all 535 Members of the House and Senate.⁵ Positioning · 24 wordsDoes anyone believe for a minute that the President has less influence on the markets than individual Members of Congress?Unearned certainty Judge that for yourself.Positioning Procedure · 11 wordsThen there is the second fully distinct part of this bill: ProcedureClaims · 171 wordsvoter suppression provisions taken right from the SAVE America Act. House Democrats support voter identification. Democrats have included responsible ID provisions in the Freedom to Vote Act and have offered amendments at committee making this point crystal clear.⁶Unearned certainty The bill before us, however, would create a more restrictive regime than any currently in use in this country. It is more restrictive than Florida and more restrictive than Texas.⁷ The bill would eviscerate mail voting as we know it, forcing voters to include photocopies of their ID every time they mail a ballot.⁸ This measure is so extreme the Republican Governor of Ohio, Governor DeWine, vetoed a similar statewide measure because it would burden voters without preventing fraud.⁹ This bill would throw our elections into chaos, the effective date being October 20 of 2026, 90 days from today, right in the middle of this midterm election.¹⁰ In 90 days, tens of millions of Americans will have already cast their ballots by person and by mail. This bill would upend the November midterms, Positioning · 11 wordsand that is exactly the point.Unearned certainty That is exactly the goal.PositioningOff pointUnearned certainty The ask · 22 wordsI urge my colleagues to oppose this rehash again of the President’s top legislative priority: ¹¹the SAVE Act. I urge its defeat. Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 8 wordsI yield back the balance of my time.Procedure

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 77

12 of 20 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I yield myself the balance of my time.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I will close by saying this.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I have addressed both parts of the bill individually.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Neither of them deserves passage.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Frankly, neither of them deserves much serious debate.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I don’t know how to be clearer than that.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Does anyone believe for a minute that the President has less influence on the markets than individual Members of Congress?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Judge that for yourself.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Then there is the second fully distinct part of this bill:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and that is exactly the point.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “That is exactly the goal.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I yield back the balance of my time.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 97

2 of 20 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the bill under debate.

Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “and that is exactly the point.”Attributes motive to supporters rather than addressing the bill’s contents.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “That is exactly the goal.”Repeats the motive claim without addressing anything in the bill.

Reasoning · 93

0 of 20 deductions are Reasoning

Reasoning checks for sound logic and solid support for any conclusion. A low score means the speaker made unsupported leaps or used weak arguments.

Nothing lost points.

Conclusions found · 2

Conclusion“Neither of them deserves passage.”

Because“The first, the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act, is not a stock trading ban.”

“It doesn’t require people to sell stock that they own.”

“The bill is a vote to allow Members of Congress to continue to own and trade individual stocks.”

“The bill would let Members of Congress keep every single share of stock they own.”

“The bill would allow Members to liquidate their holdings at any time, obviously when it is profitable for them.”

“There is no divestiture required in this bill.”

“The bill is silent on the President.”

“The bill before us, however, would create a more restrictive regime than any currently in use in this country.”

“It is more restrictive than Florida and more restrictive than Texas.”

“The bill would eviscerate mail voting as we know it, forcing voters to include photocopies of their ID every time they mail a ballot.”

“This measure is so extreme the Republican Governor of Ohio, Governor DeWine, vetoed a similar statewide measure because it would burden voters without preventing fraud.”

Reason given
Conclusion“I urge its defeat.”

Because“The bill is a vote to allow Members of Congress to continue to own and trade individual stocks.”

“There is no divestiture required in this bill.”

“The bill before us, however, would create a more restrictive regime than any currently in use in this country.”

“The bill would eviscerate mail voting as we know it, forcing voters to include photocopies of their ID every time they mail a ballot.”

“This bill would throw our elections into chaos, the effective date being October 20 of 2026, 90 days from today, right in the middle of this midterm election.”

“In 90 days, tens of millions of Americans will have already cast their ballots by person and by mail.”

Reason given

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 84

6 of 20 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “Despite what everyone has said today”An appeal to what ‘everyone’ said replaces a source for the denial.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “I don’t know how to be clearer than that”Asserts the strength of the claim in place of a supporting source.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “Does anyone believe for a minute”A rhetorical formula asserting certainty without a source.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “making this point crystal clear”Characterizes the point as self-evident rather than sourced.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “and that is exactly the point”Asserts knowledge of others’ intent as certain fact without a source.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “That is exactly the goal”Asserts the goals of others with certainty and no supporting source.

Claims · 11

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“It doesn’t require people to sell stock that they own.”The Stop Insider Trading Act does not require Members of Congress to sell stock they own.search
2“The bill would let Members of Congress keep every single share of stock they own.”The Stop Insider Trading Act would not require Members of Congress to divest any shares of stock they currently own.search
3“There is no divestiture required in this bill.”The Stop Insider Trading Act contains no divestiture requirement for Members of Congress.search
4“The bill is silent on the President.”The Stop Insider Trading Act contains no provisions applying to the President.search
5“the President has traded more securities than the entire Congress combined”So far in 2026, the President has traded more securities than all 535 Members of Congress combined.search
6“Democrats have included responsible ID provisions in the Freedom to Vote Act”The Freedom to Vote Act, supported by Democrats, included voter identification provisions.search
7“It is more restrictive than Florida and more restrictive than Texas.”The voting provisions of the bill are more restrictive than the election laws currently in use in Florida and Texas.search
8“forcing voters to include photocopies of their ID every time they mail a ballot”The bill requires voters to include a photocopy of their ID with every mailed ballot.search
9“the Republican Governor of Ohio, Governor DeWine, vetoed a similar statewide measure”Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine vetoed a statewide voting measure similar to this bill’s provisions.search
10“the effective date being October 20 of 2026”The bill’s effective date is October 20, 2026.search
11“I urge my colleagues to oppose this rehash again of the President’s top legislative priority: ”The SAVE Act is the President’s top legislative priority.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15