John,

Members of Congress have access to non-public information and the ability to influence legislation, giving them an advantage in the stock market over the rest of us.

By trading individual stocks in companies about which they may have confidential information or companies they have an opportunity to regulate, members of Congress have serious conflicts of interest. Here are a few examples:

• In 2020, at least 75 members of Congress owned shares in Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson while simultaneously being asked to vote on legislation that could have had a direct impact on these companies’ share prices.
• CREW reported that 10 senators own up to $1.2 million in stock in Big Oil companies, while sitting on committees tasked with environmental regulation and voting on climate bills.
• The Daily Beast just reported that in August 2020, Rep. Mike Garcia sold up to $50,000 in Boeing shares, weeks before his committee released the damning results of its investigation into deadly crashes involving the company’s 737 Max airliner.

Americans shouldn’t have to be concerned about members of Congress being more focused on their stock portfolio than on the country’s problems and their constituents’ best interests.

Congress must pass a total ban on the ownership or trading of stocks (including the members’ spouses and dependent children) and have a clear way to enforce this ban and hold accountable those who violate the ban.

Not only can members of Congress still actively trade stocks, which raises conflict of interest issues — many of them are not even consistently complying with very basic transparency laws and reporting their transactions in a timely manner.

In order to avoid questions about stock trading and potential conflicts, disclosure is not enough: members of Congress should not be buying and trading stocks while in office at all.

Without comprehensive reform banning this practice, these transactions and the conflicts that arise from them will continue to erode public confidence in Congress and our democracy.

That’s why CREW has urged Congress to act on a comprehensive Congressional stock ownership and trading ban, and we want you to help us show them that there is nationwide support for this ban.

Add your name to our letter today urging Congress to pass a comprehensive ban on Congressional stock trading →

Thanks,

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