The Inside Scoop

AOC, Matt Gaetz team to push bill banning Congress members from owning, trading stocks


Finally, the far left and far right have found something they can agree on.



Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) are co-sponsoring a bill to restrict members of Congress from owning or trading stocks.



H.R. 3003, also sponsored by moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and progressive Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), would prohibit congressional spouses and other dependents from owning or trading stock as well.



“The fact that Members of the Progressive Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, reflecting the entirety of the political spectrum, can find common ground on key issues like this should send a powerful message to America,” Fitzpatrick said in a joint statement with the other lawmakers.



“We must move forward on issues that unite us, including our firm belief that trust in government must be restored.”



“When Members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “It’s really that simple.”



“Members of Congress are spending their time trading futures instead of securing the future of our fellow Americans,” Gaetz said. “We cannot allow the Swamp to prioritize investing in stocks over investing in our country.”

The legislation appears to be the strictest trading ban floated thus far.

Another bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), known as the TRUST in Congress Act, would require members of Congress, their spouses and dependents to place investments into blind trusts until after they leave office.



“Rep. Spanberger appreciates continued momentum behind the push to ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks,” the Democrat’s spokesman told The Post Tuesday.


nypost.com/2023/05/02/aoc-gaetz-unveil-bill-to-ban-stock-trading-in-congress/

When the latest bank failure, First Republic, happened, Biden said depositors would be compensated it was invertors who would suffer the loss. 

Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse

Representative Lois Frankel recently sold shares of First Republic Bank as well as purchased stock in JP Morgan, which on Monday took over First Republic following its collapse.



First Republic Bank (FRC) was seized by California regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which will now assume responsibility for its debts and assets, on Monday. Shares in First Republic, a San Francisco-based bank founded in 1985, fell more than 75 percent last week after the bank announced that depositors withdrew $100 billion in March.



The collapse comes amid weeks of turmoil in the U.S. banking industry. In March, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank both failed, setting off concerns about potential looming widespread financial troubles. Following the SVB collapse, First Republic's stock quickly began to drop, prompting an attempted rescue from several larger banks, which deposited $30 billion into the institution but ultimately failed to stop its collapse.

Several other lawmakers, including Representatives John Curtis (R-UT) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), have also reported trades of First Republic Bank stocks leading up to its failure on Monday.

www.newsweek.com/democrat-sold-first-republic-stock-bought-jp-morgan-before-collapse-1797676#:~:text=Representative%20Lois%20Frankel%20recently%20sold,First%20Republic%20following%20its%20collapse.

This is a bi-partisan problem. Bi-partisan.

For the hard core partisans, I said Bi-Partisan. 

Let me be (perfectly) clear- Bi-Partisan.