Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) has announced he will sign a special petition that could force Congress to vote on a ban on lawmakers trading stocks.
"YES. It's ridiculous that this still needs to be debated. No wonder nobody likes Congress," Crane wrote when sharing his plans to sign the petition, which currently has six signatures.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) filed the discharge petition this week as a procedural tool to bypass House leadership.
If 218 House members sign it, the bill will automatically receive a floor vote regardless of leadership's position.
The Bill
The bill is called the Restore Trust in Congress Act. If it passes, members of Congress, their spouses, and children cannot buy or sell individual stocks. The idea behind the effort is that lawmakers shouldn't be able to profit from information they learn in their jobs.
Right now, there's already a law from 2012 that says Congress members can't use secret information to make money in the stock market.
Lawmakers would also be required to report any trades over $1,000 within 45 days. However, many argue that this law isn't strong enough.
Luna warned back in September that she would start this petition if nothing happened by the month's end.
“Both Republican @SpeakerJohnson and @RepJeffries have acknowledged that insider trading in Congress is a serious problem and must be stopped, and have signaled support to stop the corrupt process of insider trading via individual stock trades, but political games have already started to play out behind the scenes, so I couldn’t wait any longer,” she wrote on social media.
Moreover, Luna said both party leaders agree that Congress members trading stocks is a problem.
“I look forward to working with every faction, every caucus, and every Member, Republican and Democrat, to deliver this win for the American people,” she emphasized.
Crane's decision to sign adds momentum to the effort, which still needs 212 more signatures to force a floor vote on the stock trading ban.
