(Washington, D.C.) Members of Congress don’t get rich from their paychecks, but they can from buying and selling stocks. Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley said he will not stop pushing his attempt to ban stock trading among Congressional members. The Republican has sponsored a bill that would ban this activity.
He told Missourinet that several members made “a gob of money” right before the pandemic broke out.
“By selling and buying companies that had to do with health care, had to do with vaccines, had to do with medical supplies and masks, multiple of these people were actually investigated by federal agents because it looked so bad. It looked as if it were insider trading. But in fact, it wasn’t technically insider trading. It was just that these members of Congress got briefings and information and then acted on it,” said Hawley.
Hawley and outgoing President Joe Biden are on the same page about banning stock trading among Congressional members. Hawley said President-elect Donald Trump also supports his bill.
“I think President Trump’s leadership will be key,” said Hawley. “I can tell you, I’m not going to stop pushing on it. When I started on this, people said, ‘Oh, don’t bother. It’ll never pass.’ Well, guess what? We got it through committee for the first time ever with the support of every single Democrat and many, many Republicans. This is something that’s just very hard to vote against, because voters understand there’s no reason for members of Congress to be up here day trading.”
A new Congress begins its work next month and Hawley could re-file the proposal for the next session.
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