“I want the House to pass this bill. It stops members of Congress from trading stocks. Lawmakers should not use inside information to get rich while serving the public.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Steil for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I think there are now 200 million good reasons to vote for this bill, because that is exactly how much Members of Congress made in trading stock, most of it insider information contributing to their $200 million in take home. Now, here is the reality. Most Members of Congress are not trading stock on the job. Most of them are not day traders. They are in their districts. The reality is true; 35 Members of Congress beat the S&P 500 last year. As my colleague on the other side of the aisle just highlighted, one of the biggest stock trader wins in this is an app called Autopilot that tracks the trades of Nancy Pelosi and her husband. In the last 3 years alone, their stock trades have gone up more than 200 percent. Nobody believes that this is just Washington being smarter than Wall Street. Everyone recognizes that somebody here is getting ahead while the rest of America is falling behind. Let’s talk about real solutions to hold Members accountable. Republicans wish to end insider trading happening in Washington, and it starts by legislation that Republicans are leading today. One of the first bills that I led on the floor was to make sure that we could stop this level of stock trading. When I came to Congress, I had very little stock to begin with--with 20 years serving in the military--but I sold it all because I think it is important that Members of Congress prioritize oversight and prioritize their constituents, not get rich while serving. For the first time, there is a bill before us that bans congressional stock trading, and it has reached the House floor with a lot of hard work on both sides of the aisle. To my colleagues back in Iowa, watch this vote. Watch who talks about ending stock trading and who delivers on ending stock trading. Watch who is committed beyond the rhetoric to holding Washington accountable. Together, Republicans are working to clean up Congress and working to secure our elections. These are two easy votes on the floor today. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.’’”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It stops members of Congress from trading stocks. Lawmakers should not get rich from inside information while making the rules. This bill also requires voters to show a photo ID to vote, which keeps our elections safe.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, to end stock trading by Members of Congress, because trust in our democracy cannot be a luxury item. It must be the everyday expectation of every American. For too long, the public has watched the headlines that read like a civic lesson gone wrong: elected officials buying and selling stocks in industries they regulate, profiting from information the public will never see. That is not merely unseemly, it is corrosive. It eats away at confidence in this institution, and confidence once lost is not easily rebuilt. Banning congressional stock trading is a simple proposition. If someone serves the public, they serve only the public. They don’t get to play the market with one hand while writing the rules with the other. They don’t get to benefit from the power the people have loaned them. This reform is about fairness--for the teacher saving for retirement, the nurse investing in her future, the small business owner trying to build something that lasts. They play by the rules. They deserve a Congress that does the same. Mr. Speaker, this is our chance to say clearly: Public service is a public trust. Let us honor it. The fact is this bill bans stock trading. And, yes, it requires photo ID, something 80 percent of Americans agree with. People just saw what came out yesterday by one of our former colleagues, the Governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, announcing that 6,600 non-U.S. citizens were added to the voter rolls in New Jersey and nearly 400 of them voted in the election. Voter ID ensures the sanctity of our elections and ensures confidence by the American people in our elections. Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we pass this legislation, and the American people should watch how every single Member votes on this bill.”

• Little substance
  ?

  Speech on a bill

  Signal 43 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I want the House to pass this bill. It bans members of Congress, their spouses, and their children from buying individual stocks. It also makes them give seven days notice before selling any stock they own, so they cannot profit from insider information. This bill also requires people to show a photo ID to vote in federal elections. Both changes will help Americans trust Congress and our elections.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as we close out today, I begin by thanking leadership for giving us this opportunity. Congress has not had a bill on the House floor on this topic with this opportunity before. I thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, Whip Emmer for their work on this. I also thank the Members of this body who have doggedly worked on this issue, in particular Congressman Chip Roy, as well as Brian Fitzpatrick, Tim Burchett, Anna Paulina Luna, and others for their feedback and work throughout the process to get to this point. Before us is the Stop Insider Trading Act. Mr. Speaker, I will touch on a handful of things that came up today about what is in and what is not in the bill. I think this is important for the American people to know. Some of the arguments made today are what I call a Goldilocks argument: The bill doesn’t do enough. The bill does too much. Let’s take this moment to take a real and substantive step forward. I will begin as I close by discussing what is in the bill. The bill ensures that Members and lawmakers cannot use their positions to profit off of insider information. Mr. Speaker, insider trading is already illegal, and individuals who engage in it should be held accountable by the full force of the law. However, as we know, prosecuting insider trading is actually quite difficult. It is why this bill is so important to provide a bright-line rule to remove even the appearance of impropriety that someone has leveraged their position for financial gain. Under this bill, Members, their spouses, and their dependent children are prevented from purchasing individual companies’ shares of stock, period, full stop. The question then becomes: What if a Member arrives in Congress with stock in their portfolio? Say they are saving up for their retirement or their children’s college education. We provide an opportunity with 7 days advance notice to be able to make that sale. That 7 days of advance notice tells the American people what is going on in advance rather than current law, which allows a 30-day filing after the fact. This prevents Members from being able to profit off of any insider information they may gain in this institution. Mr. Speaker, the violations and penalties associated with this bill are steep: a fine equal to $2,000 or 10 percent of the transaction, as well as a disgorgement of profits. Violators would be forfeiting any gain realized if they fail to comply with this legislation. The legislation is critical in restoring trust in this institution. One of the challenges we face is that this institution 15 years ago passed the STOCK Act, publicly disclosing any trade a Member of this institution makes. However, the disclosure rules lack detail and are filed a month after the transaction. When you couple that with the increased attention to Member trades, in particular, through social media accounts, it has fueled public frustration. I believe this is our opportunity where we can simply stop Members of Congress from trading individual stocks, period, full stop. Doing so removes even the appearance of wrongdoing. Americans should be confident that individuals working here are working on their behalf, not on behalf of their own financial interests. This bill is coupled with the Voter ID Act. In jurisdictions across this country, States that neighbor mine, like Illinois or Minnesota, or as far away as California or New York, voters can go to the polls on election day and cast a ballot without providing proof of their identity. Our Voter ID Act implements commonsense election integrity measures by requiring voters to show photo ID when casting a ballot in Federal elections. Mr. Speaker, 24 States already require some form of photo ID to vote. The bill simply takes this standard and makes it nationwide. Both of these provisions are commonsense reforms, but, in particular, the Stop Insider Trading Act is a moment when we can take a tremendous step forward in the ethics here in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, and in this institution. At a period of time when Americans are struggling to gain confidence in Congress, this legislation before us gives us that opportunity to begin restoring the trust. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues in this body today to vote in favor of the legislation before us, and I yield back the balance of my time.”