Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) is celebrating the House's passage of the Stop Insider Trading Act, which bans members of Congress from trading stocks.
What the Bill Does and Crane's Support
As its name suggests, the Stop Insider Trading Act bans members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from buying, trading, and selling stocks while in office, including options, warrants, and similar derivatives.
Rep. Crane has been a vocal advocate of the ban, signing a pledge in December to vote in favor of Representative Anna Paulina Luna's (R-FL) Restore Trust in Congress Act, an earlier form of the Stop Insider Trading Act.
"YES. It's ridiculous that this still needs to be debated. No wonder nobody likes Congress," Rep. Crane posted on social media in response to a post sharing Rep. Luna's introduction of the Restore Trust in Congress Act.
What Crane is Saying Now
With the Stop Insider Trading Act now heading to the Senate, the Arizona congressman said in a press release, "Our Founders envisioned a nation where citizen representatives served their constituents, not one where they used their positions to amass personal wealth."
"This legislation establishes solid guardrails to prevent lawmakers or their families from using insider information to enrich themselves," Crane continued. "While I commend my colleagues in the House for passing this bill, it won't make a difference if our colleagues in the Senate don't make it a priority. I'm asking the American people to reach out to their senators and urge them to support this commonsense bill."
Similar Legislation
In June, Crane was one of the first members of Congress to sign on as a cosponsor of the BLAST Act, which permanently bans former officials from becoming lobbyists.
"I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of the BLAST Act, which finally closes the revolving door of former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists," he said. "Our Founders envisioned a government led by citizen representatives, not lifelong political operators cashing in on their time in office."
