Republicans and Democrats seem to agree on banning members of Congress from owning stocks, which new bipartisan legislation filed earlier this month seeks to address.
The bill, passed by Senate Republicans Kristen Gillibrand and Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, would ban members of Congress and senior executive branch members from Stock Trading, Stock ownership and blind trusts, where a financial portfolio is managed by a third party with no direction from the owner. The ban also applies to the spouses and dependents of Congress and senior executive branch members.
Politicians and civil servants shouldn't spend their time day-trading and trying to make a profit at the expense of the American public, but that's exactly what so many are doing.
Legislators have introduced several bills aimed at establishing some form of restricted stock ownership by members of Congress, senior White House officials and in some cases, the Supreme Court. One bipartisan effort, introduced in the House, included co-sponsorship by political polar opposites New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
previous efforts have stalled, in part because of members' own defense of the practice, particularly former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While the House advanced a bill in 2022, it wasn't scheduled for a floor vote, nor has Republican leaders moved similar bills forward after the party took control of the House in the 2022 midterm election.
The STOCK Act 2012 allows members of Congress and their top staff to trade stock, but it also requires them to report their trades and gains. In 2022, the White House signaled that it would be supportive of a ban following a spate of bills banning stock trading for Congress members.
A survey by the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation found a majority of individuals of all political beliefs in favor of banning stock trading for Congress, senior White House officials and members of the Supreme Court.
The survey of 1,625 registered voters between May 19 and May 30 found 88% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 81% of Independents in favor of banning individual stock trading by members of Congress.
While the prospect of a stock trading ban is controversial within Congress, the potential for public support approaches unanimity, Kull, director of the program, said in a statement.
Only about 25% of those who responded found arguments against a Congressional stock ban convincing. A ban would discourage people from running for Congress, or it would be necessary because the current disclosure rules are sufficient, argues a Congress member.
While many are looking to prevent members of Congress from buying and selling company shares, some are seeking to cash on the stock trading habits of members of Congress.
Subversive Capital Advisor, an investment consultant, has created an ETF that tracks publicly-disclosed stock purchases from prominent politicians. Investors looking to cash in on Democratic lawmakers' stock picks can buy the Democratic ETF, the Democratic Democratic ETF, under the ticker NANC, or the Republican ETF, labeled by the ticker KRUZ.
The Reflection Asset Managements Democratic Large-Cap Core Fund, ticker DEMZ, steers funds toward Democratic-leading institutions, while the MAGA ETF offers the same opportunity to Republicans.