The U.S. House has passed a bill that would ban members of congress from buying individual stocks.
Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, called the action long overdue. “It’s making the guys in Washington more accountable to the folks back home,” Nunn said, “and I’m thrilled to see this bill is marching out.”
The bill, which cleared the House this afternoon, would let members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children keep stocks they already own, but prevent them from buying new stocks. Public disclosure would be required at least seven days before any stock owned by a member of congress or their immediate family members is sold. Nunn said members who violate those restrictions would face stiff financial penalties based on the value of the stock. “This now is a very bright red line for members of congress,” Nunn said.
Nunn and other backers of the bill say allegations that members of congress have used insider information to make stock trades have eroded public trust. “Look, when Washington’s doing better than Wall Street we should have a real concern about the type of information members of congress are getting access to, but we should also have a real concern about what spouses and dependent children are doing with access to this information, too,” Nunn says. “Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband is well known to have been a stock trader while she was in a leadership position.”
Thirteen Democrats joined Republicans in the House to pass the bill today. Other Democrats say the bill did not go far enough and should have banned members of congress from owning stocks so they do not profit from their official positions.
Others objected to the addition of election-related language that would require people show a photo I.D. in order to vote. Nunn said the stock trading ban and the voter I.D. requirement are both issues related to integrity in politics. “These are two I will say 85% issues that both Republicans and Democrats agree on,” Nunn said. “The STOCK Act is something that we’ve worked on for three years, but election integrity is something I’ve worked on my entire career both in the federal level and the state level.”
Nunn was a member of the Iowa legislature for eight years before he was elected to the U.S. House in 2022. Nunn, who is seeking re-election, faces Democrat Sarah Trone-Garriott in November. She said the stock trading bill Nunn voted for “isn’t good enough.” Trone-Garriott said it will still let members of congress get rich at the public’s expense because they’ll be able to keep any stocks they own and even make stock trades if they disclose the transactions.
