Stock Trading Ban for Members of Congress

Floor Speech

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Mr. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, I don't need a written speech or a prepared document to say how common sense this is.

For far too long, people have basically turned politics into a career which was never its intent. It was meant to serve we the people. There is something that is mutually exclusive: You cannot serve yourself and personal enrichment and serve the public at the same time.

We know for a fact that even within the National Defense Authorization Act that you can get language put in, provided to you by companies that allow for certain amounts of money to be sole sourced or in some ways appropriated to defense companies that they can then turn around and invest in.

How is that not insider trading when it is public knowledge on what is out there, but not public knowledge on what is being put into the NDAA during the markups?

Insider trading must stop. I can tell you that banning stock trading for Members of Congress and their spouses should not be something that is in question.

We must rebuild the actual image of Congress. We must rebuild the image of the Federal Government, where we are actually here to truly serve the people. I think this is a paramount step in us making sure, with friends and colleagues like Representative Magaziner, we are able to move forward and rebuild the trust, the hope, and rebuild this institution to be what it once was.

Our Founding Fathers, many of them in the private sector, were very successful businessmen. They served in an effort to try and get back to their businesses because they actually made more money there, but it has changed where people are making more money while in Congress while stock trading than they can in the private sector.

The same way that a plan B for failed male athletes shouldn't be women's sports, a plan B for failed entrepreneurs shouldn't be Congress and stock trading.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I ask everyone to move forward in guaranteeing that we rebuild the confidence in government and we restore what it means to serve we the people.

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