Congressional trading has ignited a growing controversy as concerns mount over suspicious transactions and violations of the STOCK Act by several US representatives.
In response to these alarming trends, a bipartisan effort has emerged with the introduction of the “Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act.” Proposed by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in July, this legislation aims to prohibit members of Congress and the federal executive branch, including the president, from trading stocks. The proposed law also outlines penalties for those found in breach.
This week, another US representative publicly endorsed the ban on Congressional trading, emphasizing the urgency of addressing this pressing issue.
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US Rep. Ken Buck endorses banning Congressional trading
Notably, US Representative Ken Buck released a post on X on November 29, saying that Congress should vote in support of a congressional stock trading ban.
Buck’s post was published in response to a separate tweet by Quiver Quantitative, a retail trading data platform that has been regularly tracking suspicious stock transactions made by US representatives.
On November 27, the account released a post about a recent investment made by Senator Tina Smith in medical device maker Tactile Systems (NASDAQ: TCMD). Smith bought up to $250,000 worth of TCMD shares, and since then, the stock surged over 43%, Quiver noted.
“It has risen literally every day since Smith’s purchase. It’s a medical devices company. Senator Smith is on the Senate Committee on Health.”
– Quiver Quantitative highlighted in its post.
In response to this post, US Rep. Buck publicly endorsed the recent initiatives to ban congressional trading and rebuild public trust in Congress.
“There is now bipartisan support for banning members of Congress for buying and selling stocks. We should vote now to restore some public trust in Congress.”
– US Rep. Ken Buck wrote in an X post.
Will the US ban Congressional trading?
For Congressional stock trading to become regulated, the current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson must bring this proposal to a vote.
As pointed out by Quiver Quantitative in its post, the previous two Speakers Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy both promised they would bring a vote on regulating congressional trading but they never did.
Intriguingly, Pelosi herself made a fortune from stock trading. This year alone, some of her investments saw a sharp increase in value amid the ongoing AI craze, most notably Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
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