A bipartisan bill reintroduced last week by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) would effectively ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependents from trading individual stocks.
“Members of Congress should be held to a high ethical standard,” Rep. Johnson said on Friday. “Using any kind of confidential information to game the system for personal gain is unacceptable.”
Rep. Johnson on Jan. 12 signed on as one of 37 original cosponsors of the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act, H.R. 345. U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Young Kim (R-CA) are also cosponsors of H.R. 345, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who originally sponsored the same-named H.R. 336 in January 2021 alongside cosponsor Rep. Johnson. The previous bill stalled in the U.S. House Committee on House Administration.
If enacted, the newly reintroduced H.R. 345 would require members of Congress and their families to place stock investments into a qualified blind trust until 180 days after the end of their tenure in Congress, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Johnson’s office.
A covered investment under H.R. 345 is defined as investment in a security, a commodity, or a future, or any comparable economic interest acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, the summary says.
“Public trust in our institutions is declining, and we should take steps to protect the integrity of our government and its officials,” said the congressman. “Passing this bill will inch us closer to that goal – I’m grateful for the bipartisan leadership on this effort.”
Once again, the bill has been referred for consideration to the House Administration Committee.