John - did you know lawmakers in D.C. buy and sell millions in stocks every single year?

At the beginning of the pandemic, some of our very own representatives in Washington used closed-door briefings to invest in companies like Pfizer and Gilead, who have made huge profits during the COVID-19 crisis.

Our lawmakers shouldn't be able to make a dime on insider information. But under the Stock Act, the only existing law regulating Congressional insider trading, representatives in violation are rarely held accountable. And shockingly, we heard Speaker Pelosi shrug this off and declare that it’s a “free market.” There is nothing “free” about members of Congress utilizing their privileged positions and knowledge to entrench their own wealth.

I don’t own a single stock, John. I never have. Roughly half the American people don’t either, while the wealthiest 10% of households own a whopping 89% of all stocks. Even more disturbing is the fact that the wealthiest 1% of Americans own a jaw-dropping 53% of all stocks, valued at $21.1 trillion.

John, I think that's f***** up.

We should not be pegging the health of the US economy to stocks, let alone allowing the very people who write our laws to benefit from insider knowledge that directly impacts the values of the stocks they own.

Right now, there are two bills in Washington that have the potential to regulate this unethical practice. But members of the House and Senate are dragging their feet to pass these critical reform measures.

That's I want to hear from you, John. Do you agree that lawmakers shouldn't be able to profit from insider knowledge? Share your thoughts by filling out our official survey.

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Thank you, John.

- Shervin Aazami