KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents Kansas' third congressional district, has joined other lawmakers in signing a letter asking for stronger rules for members of Congress engaging in trading stocks.
Davids is among others who signed a letter addressed to Reps. Rodney Davis and Zoe Lofgren, who lead a congressional committee reviewing the rules.
"We write today to urge your committee to advance strong legislation to ban members of Congress from directly owning or trading stocks while in office," the letter says.
The letter advocates that new legislation to limit stock market endeavors from lawmakers address three main points:
- Banning ownership and trading of stocks by representatives' spouses and dependents
- Allows for no exception for stocks already acquired before entering Congress
- Enforcement of the rules and heavy fines for violations
"Americans across the political spectrum support banning members of Congress from trading stocks," the letter says. "If we seek to write off their concerns with a toothless gimmick, they will see through it and continue to mistrust their elected officials."
Trading stocks as a lawmaker became a point of controversy for some during the pandemic, when certain members were accused of selling and buying stocks in accordance with inside knowledge they acquired as part of serving in Congress.
Davids said that's part of what inspired the push to get legislation on the topic passed.
“Over the past few years we’ve just seen instances of questionable financial conduct by elected officials," she said. “When Covid was first emerging, we saw members and their spouses buying things like pharmaceutical stocks, before the public truly understood what was going to happen.”
Now, the Senate and House are holding hearings for legislation like the TRUST in Congress Act or the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, which pertain to Congresspeople trading stocks.
Davids said she hopes legislation will be successfully made law and help restore trust in lawmakers.
"We need to be doing what we can to improve transparency and accountability so that we can restore trust," Davids said.
