Representative Dave Min Introduces Bill To Increase Government Transparency, Ban Congressional Stock Trading

Washington, D.C. —Today, Representative Dave Min (CA-47), a member of the House Oversight Committee, introduced the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act 2.0 to prevent individuals in public positions of service, including White House and other top government officials, the federal judiciary, and Members of Congress, from using their access for personal financial enrichment. Rep. Min, a former SEC Enforcement attorney and law professor, has led the charge to hold the Trump administration accountable.

“No one is above the law, and no one should be allowed to use inside information to enrich themselves,” said Rep. Min. “I built my career at the SEC holding the rich and powerful accountable, prosecuting corporate fraud and insider trading. Members of Congress, senior White House staff, judges, and other government officials should not be allowed to rip off taxpayers by trading on the inside information they have because of their positions. Enough is enough.”

“It is crucial that the American people have a clear understanding of their representatives' financial interests, including profits made from government contracts, grants and similar federal benefits," said Virginia Canter, Anticorruption and Ethics Chief Counsel and Director at Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF). “That’s why Rep. Min's STOCK Act 2.0 is so important. By strengthening disclosure requirements for public officials' covered transactions, and imposing impactful penalties for non-compliance, the bill is a key part of the fight to rebuild trust and ensure that elected officials are focused on their constituents' well-being, not on their financial portfolios. It’s past time we begin to restore faith in our democratic institutions and demand the true accountability the American people deserve from their representatives.”

“As the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress continue to prioritize enriching the ultra-wealthy over supporting ordinary people, the STOCK Act 2.0 would be a crucial step in holding this government of and for billionaires to account. The American public deserves full transparency from federal officials, and public access to these financial records is essential to bolstering our democracy,” said Sharmeen Contractor, Investor Engagement and Advocacy Lead for Oxfam America’s Private Sector Department. 

Government Information Watch said it “supports The STOCK Act 2.0 introduced today by Congressman Dave Min. It would improve the public's trust in Congress by making Congressional trading more transparent and, thus, accountable to the public. As its name says, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, this important legislation affirms that securities laws, especially those related to trading on material nonpublic information, apply to members of Congress and to high-level members of the Executive Branch. The Act also provides for punishment of those who violate the relevant securities laws related to insider trading.”

The STOCK Act 2.0 would strengthen financial disclosure requirements for senior federal officials across all branches of government and would ban stock trading by Members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices by: 

• Requiring Members of Congress, senior congressional staff, the President, Vice President, and senior executive branch officials to report received federal benefits of value (contracts, grants, agricultural subsidies, etc.)
• Increasing penalties for failure to file STOCK Act, which requires Members of Congress to disclose stock trades within 45 days.
• Expanding the STOCK Act to apply to members of the federal judiciary, including Supreme Court justices and senior officials of the Federal Reserve System.
• Prohibiting Members of Congress, the President, Vice President, Supreme Court justices, and senior Federal Reserve system officials from trading individual stocks.
• Enabling oversight by the ethics agencies of all officials covered by this Act. 

This bill is supported by Government Information Watch (GIW), Patriotic Millionaires, Oxfam America, End Citizens United, Democracy Defenders Action (DDA), Public Citizen, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), and Fix the Court.

The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Norton (DC), Ansari (AZ-03), Levin (CA-49), Tlaib (MI-12), Deluzio (PA-17), Ramirez (IL-03), Keating (MA-09), Horsford (NV 04), and Stanton (AZ-04). 

Bill text can be found here. 

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