ALBAWABA – Members of the United States (US) Senate brought forward a bill last Tuesday that would ban stock trading for US Congress, Presidents, White House and other senior executive branch officials, news agencies reported last week.
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled, in a brief hallway interview, that she and Republican Senator Josh Hawley are officially taking the lead on the "Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act".
The new bill would not make any exceptions for officials' trading in blind trusts and would impose penalties of varying degrees on members of Congress and executive branch officials, according to Reuters.
"From the American people's perspective, they want members of Congress to come to Washington to work for them," Gillibrand told Morning Edition on July 20.
"They don't expect members of Congress to make money off of their jobs, particularly through the stock trade," she underlined.
Additional civil penalties may be enforceable in cases of "substantial monetary value" or those that are "extraordinary in nature," according to a summary of the bill provided by the senators, as reported by Reuters.
So far, it was unclear when the legislation may be considered in committee or whether it will advance to the full Senate for debate and voting anytime this year.
In a statement on the Senate’s official website, the Senator said the vast majority of Americans believe stock trading should be banned for members of Congress and top executive branch officials.
According to a recent poll by Morning Consult/Politico, at least 63 percent of Americans support banning stock trading for members of Congress and their families, as well for the president, vice president and top officials at federal government agencies.
