Tell the Senate: Stop Stock Trading Now

We shouldn’t have to wonder whether our elected officials are making decisions in the interest of the public or their own financial gain. But members of Congress, who have troves of nonpublic information and make decisions that influence markets, can freely trade stocks — even in companies and industries they are tasked with regulating.

For years, the public has watched as members of Congress have beaten the stock market and even found cash-grab opportunities in unprecedented crises like the coronavirus pandemic. While there may be a new Congress in town, the public is still putting up with the same old problems. Some members of Congress traded stocks in major banks amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this year, according to the New York Times. And energy bills introduced this year have been written by members who hold stocks in oil and gas companies that stand to benefit from these proposals, Sludge has reported.

Several bipartisan bills introduced this year would ban members of Congress from trading stocks while in office, an obvious solution that majorities of Republican, Democrat, and independent voters support. Now we need your help urging the Senate to make it happen.