"It is despicable": House Democrats rage over Republican stock trading "set-up"
Summary
House Democrats criticized a bill called the Stop Insider Trading Act, which passed the House and aims to ban members of Congress and their families from buying individual stocks. A Republican group is now running ads praising GOP lawmakers in swing districts for supporting the bill, which Democrats say is misleading because the bill does not fully ban stock trading and excludes the president and cabinet.Key Facts
- The Stop Insider Trading Act passed the House with a vote of 232 to 198 in July.
- The bill bans members of Congress and their families from purchasing individual stocks but allows owning and selling pre-existing stocks and investing in mutual funds or ETFs.
- The bill does not apply to the president or cabinet members.
- Republican group Choose Freedom Inc. spent $9 million on ads praising GOP lawmakers who supported the bill.
- Democrats criticized the ads, calling the bill a weak form of stock trading ban and opposing an unrelated voter ID provision included in it.
- Some Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Dingell, said a stronger ban including the president will be passed when Democrats hold the House majority again.
- The ads highlight GOP Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who has been scrutinized for frequent stock trades; Democrats and his opponent criticize him for this.
- Republicans accused Democrats of not supporting real solutions, pointing to House Democrats who voted against the bill.
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