U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is renewing her push to bar high-ranking government officials from trading stocks, unveiling new legislation she calls the No Stock Act.
The proposal would ban members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, the president, the vice president, and their immediate families from holding or trading stocks and certain other financial assets.
Gillibrand said the measure is needed to eliminate conflicts of interest, pointing to recent data showing that from 2019 to 2021, one in three members of Congress traded financial assets, with more than 3,700 transactions raising potential conflicts with their legislative duties.
“Government officials are entrusted with privileged and often confidential information to carry out important work and serve the American people,” Gillibrand said during a virtual press conference on Thursday. “It is absolutely unacceptable that so many of them seem to be using their power to advance their own financial interests. By banning stock holding and trading, the No Stock Act will solve this problem once and for all.”
Gillibrand has long pushed for more transparency and accountability in government. She led Senate passage of the STOCK Act in 2012, requiring disclosure of trades by lawmakers, and in 2023 introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen restrictions on stock trading by members of Congress and senior officials.
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