Newly minted Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday to “prevent Members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks” to make it harder to have insider trading.
Nunn, a Republican, along with Rep. Greg Stanton, a Democrat from Arizona, introduced the “Prohibit Insider Trading Act” in order to “prevent Members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks,” which includes a “civil fine of up to $50,000” for violations. Additionally, if enacted, “any profit related to the trades would be returned to the American people via the U.S. Treasury.”
According to Nunn’s press release, the Prohibit Insider Trading Act specifically:
- Prohibits Members of Congress and their spouses from transacting in individual stocks, futures, options, commodities, and warrants while serving in office. Diversified mutual funds, diversified ETFs, Treasury bills, and any investment in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is exempt.
- Mandates each Member submit to the supervising Ethics Committee a written certification of compliance within seven days after the beginning of any session of Congress.
- Ensures Members or their spouses forfeit any investment profits to the U.S. Treasury if they are found in violation of the law.
- Additionally, Members who violate the requirements lose the ability to deduct losses of those investments on their income taxes.
- Empowers the Ethics Committees to levy supplementary civil penalties up to $50,000 and make public any violations.
- Requires the supervising ethics office to conduct an audit of compliance by every Member of Congress every two years.
While on the campaign trade, the New York Times released a bombshell report showing Nunn’s Democrat opponent, former Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA), was one of at least 97 members of Congress who “bought or sold stock, bonds or other financial assets that intersected with their congressional work or reported similar transactions by their spouse or a dependent child.”
Axne reportedly traded assets with 43 companies with 13 potential conflicts, as she sits on the Agriculture Committee, the Financial Services Committee, and the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance.
Following the bombshell report, the now-congress pledged that he and his wife would not trade any stocks in Congress and would support a ban on members of Congress trading stocks after being sworn into Congress — the same commitment he has made in Iowa as a lawmaker.
“I’ve prioritized service over self my entire life – first in the Air Force, then as a state legislator, and now as a member of Congress. The top priority of civil servants should be serving the American people, not making personal profit,” Nunn said in a statement on Thursday.
File/Rep.-elect Zach Nunn (R-IA) is seen at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill hotel during new member orientation of the 118th Congress in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2022. (Elizabeth Frantz for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“I believe Iowans should have open, transparent, and honest representation without conflicts of interest getting in the way. This isn’t a partisan issue—this is a way to stop corruption in politics that has unfortunately become all too common,” Nunn added.
Stanton also stated, “Americans need to know their elected leaders in Washington are making decisions based on what’s best for our country, not their own stock portfolios.” And touting the new legislation, he added, “Our common-sense, bipartisan legislation will put an end to corrupt insider trading and bring some transparency and integrity back to Congress.”
Nunn’s press release noted that a recent analysis found approximately 20 percent of Members of Congress are buying and selling stocks where there may be a conflict of interest. In addition, he noted that 78 Congressional lawmakers in the 117th Congress violated the current law, known as the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, which requires public disclosure of stock transactions over $1,000 made on their behalf or their spouses within 45 days.
The STOCK Act was a bipartisan bill that banned insider trading by members of Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 4, 2012. The legislation received overwhelming support from both parties.
In 2011, Breitbart News senior contributor and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer rocked official Washington with his investigative revelations of insider trading by members of Congress. Left-leaning Slate hailed Schweizer’s blockbuster book on the topic, Throw Them All Out, “the book that started the STOCK Act stampede.”
One of the main figures featured in Schweizer’s Throw Them All Out was then-chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who announced he would not seek reelection after the book’s revelations.
Bachus was the only elected official the late Andrew Breitbart ever called on to resign. CBS’s 60 Minutes did an investigative report on Schweizer’s revelations that won them the Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for excellence in Washington-based journalism.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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