The House Democratic leadership has drawn the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, after apparently waiting too long to present a bill banning stock trades involving members of Congress.
According to The Hill, Democrat leaders unveiled stock-trading-ban legislation Tuesday, just days before Congress' extended recess, in advance of the midterm elections on Nov. 8.
As a result, the other lawmakers fear there won't be enough time to read, discuss, possibly edit, and ultimately vote on the proposal, according to reports.
On Friday, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., issued a statement on the matter, essentially accusing Democrat leaders of slow-walking her proposal from two years ago in favor of a less streamlined bill that would eventually fail in a House vote.
"This moment marks a failure of House leadership — and it's yet another example of why I believe that the Democratic Party needs new leaders in the halls of Capitol Hill, as I have long made known," Spanberger's statement read.
Spanberger didn't specify any names in her dressing-down of Democratic leadership.
Back in January, Newsmax covered how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., initially tried to block the congressional ban on trading stocks. This came amid reports of Pelosi's personal net worth approaching $120 million.
There were also reports of the Pelosi family investing millions in call options — on prominent companies such as Google, Salesforce, Micron Technology and Roblox.
Shortly thereafter, though, Pelosi agreed to back the stock-trading-ban legislation and directed lawmakers to draft a proposal based on "where the support is in our caucus."
Pelosi's support, however, came with a caveat:
"It has to be government-wide," Pelosi said during the winter. "The Supreme Court has no disclosure, it has no reporting of stock transactions. And yet, it makes important decisions every day."
On Friday, Pelosi told reporters the stock-trading-ban bill didn't reach the House floor because it didn't have enough votes to pass.
As Newsmax chronicled earlier this month, a previous stock-trading-ban bill seemingly had enough substance and support to reach the finish line, prior to the midterms.
In a letter co-authored by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., the lawmakers consolidated the most popular components of previous legislative submissions to form a bill that could potentially gain traction with House Democrats and Republicans.
"In the service of our constituents and to restore trust in our public institutions, we are working together to synthesize our respective legislation into a single, bipartisan legislative framework, and as part of that work, we have established a set of shared principles that have guided our own efforts to find consensus and develop a broader legislative framework," the lawmakers wrote.
The principal measure of the proposed legislation: All active members of the House and Senate, including spouses and dependents under the age of 18, would be barred from trading and acquiring stocks in a marketplace setting.
Among the stipulations:
- Banning the ownership and trading of stocks.
- Prohibiting ownership/trading of "securities, commodities, futures, derivatives, options, or similar financial assets."
- Demanding stiffer penalties for congressional members who violate the new rules.
- Requiring lawmakers to divest existing investments covered by the ban. As alternatives, the politicians would be encouraged to shift monies into Treasury bonds, or mutual bonds, and also move investments into a "qualified blind trust."
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