Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez Helps Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks

Today, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) joined Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and 34 of her colleagues in introducing the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act, which would require Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their tenure in Congress, effectively banning them from trading individual stocks.

This way, Members of Congress would be unable to use their positions to inform investment decisions, influence the value of their existing investments, or contribute to greater distrust between the American people and their elected officials.

“Members of Congress are sent to D.C. to represent their communities, not line their own pockets using insider information they get on the job, and that’s something that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Preventing Members and their families from trading individual stocks is a necessary step forward as we work to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in this effort.”

The legislation is endorsed by numerous advocacy and government accountability organizations, including the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), National Taxpayers Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Public Citizen, Campaign Legal Center, Taxpayers for Common Sense, FreedomWorks, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Protect Democracy, Americans for Prosperity, Government Accountability Project, Issue One, PEER, Democracy12, Fix the Court, and ECU Action Fund.