AOC And Matt Gaetz Team Up To Ban Lawmakers From Trading Stocks

AOC

  by Tyler Durden

And while there's no evidence that Goldman was trading on insider information, Goldman's win is emblematic of so many others by lawmakers which seem to work out in their favor.

To that end - Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have teamed up to co-sponsor a bill which bans members of Congress from trading stocks.

The Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act would ban members of Congress and their spouses and dependents from making financial investments. Also co-sponsoring the bill are Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

"The ability to individually trade stock erodes the public's trust in government," said Ocasio-Cortez. "When members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it. It's really that simple."

Meanwhile, Gaetz told Fox News that "AOC is wrong a lot, she'd probably say the same thing about me, but she's not corrupt and I will work with anyone and everyone to ensure that Congress is not so compromised."

A 63% majority of registered voters said they support a ban on stock trading for members of Congress, according to 2022 Morning Consult poll. That includes 69% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 58% of Republicans.

At least 113 members of Congress or members of their families disclosed stock transactions in 2021 totaling $355 million, according to a report from Capitol Trades, which tracks trading on Capitol Hill, and some but not all could be potential conflicts of interest based on lawmakers' committee assignments. The New York Times found 18% of Congress sat on committees that "potentially gave them insight into the companies whose shares they reported buying or selling." -Deseret.com