From 2019-2021, one in three members of Congress traded stocks or other financial assets, many of which posed potential conflicts of interest with their legislative responsibilities
86% of Americans support passing a bill to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a virtual press conference to introduce the No Stock Act. This critical legislation would ban senior government officials—including members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, the president, the vice President, and their immediate families—from holding or trading stocks and certain other financial assets.
Despite the passage of Senator Gillibrand’s STOCK Act in 2012—which bars congressmembers from using insider information to buy and sell stocks—recent data indicates that one in three members of Congress traded stocks or other financial assets from 2019-2021, and over 3,700 of those trades posed potential conflicts of interest with their legislative responsibilities. Senator Gillibrand’s new legislation would help eliminate these conflicts of interest by banning stock trading for high-ranking government officials altogether.
“Government officials are entrusted with privileged and often confidential information to carry out important work and serve the American people. It is absolutely unacceptable that so many of them seem to be using their power to advance their own financial interests,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The American people deserve to know that their elected officials are working in their best interest, not watching their stock portfolios grow. By banning stock holding and trading, the No Stock Act will solve this problem once and for all. I am determined to get it across the finish line.”
Senator Gillibrand has been a champion for transparency and good government throughout her career. Gillibrand led Senate passage of the STOCK Act in 2012, and she was the first member of Congress to post a daily report listing her official meetings, personal financial disclosures, earmark requests, and taxes online. In 2023, she also introduced the bipartisan Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act, legislation that aimed to create stringent stock trading bans and disclosure requirements for Congress, senior executive branch officials, and their spouses and dependents.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
###