Stop Insider Trading Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, to end stock trading by Members of Congress, because trust in our democracy cannot be a luxury item. It must be the everyday expectation of every American.

For too long, the public has watched the headlines that read like a civic lesson gone wrong: elected officials buying and selling stocks in industries they regulate, profiting from information the public will never see. That is not merely unseemly, it is corrosive. It eats away at confidence in this institution, and confidence once lost is not easily rebuilt.

Banning congressional stock trading is a simple proposition. If someone serves the public, they serve only the public. They don't get to play the market with one hand while writing the rules with the other. They don't get to benefit from the power the people have loaned them.

This reform is about fairness--for the teacher saving for retirement, the nurse investing in her future, the small business owner trying to build something that lasts. They play by the rules. They deserve a Congress that does the same.

Mr. Speaker, this is our chance to say clearly: Public service is a public trust. Let us honor it.

The fact is this bill bans stock trading. And, yes, it requires photo ID, something 80 percent of Americans agree with. People just saw what came out yesterday by one of our former colleagues, the Governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, announcing that 6,600 non-U.S. citizens were added to the voter rolls in New Jersey and nearly 400 of them voted in the election. Voter ID ensures the sanctity of our elections and ensures confidence by the American people in our elections.

Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we pass this legislation, and the American people should watch how every single Member votes on this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source