Here's the deal:
Members of Congress are elected to serve their constituents, not their bank accounts. Yet, time and again, lawmakers have used insider information gained from their positions to buy and trade stocks, profiting from government contracts, company collapses, and even wars—events that could be devastating for ordinary people.
Under the status quo, lawmakers apparently have a dual role: public servant and private investor. Over 100 members on both sides of the aisle have made tens of thousands of stock trades a year since 2021—trading MILLIONS of shares and assets worth over a BILLION dollars. And they're doing it with information that isn't available to the rest of the public.
This isn't just a breach of trust—it's a betrayal of the public they are sworn to serve.
By The Numbers
Congress is easily beating the market. Where the S&P 500 returned 24% in 2020 and Warren Buffet netted 15%, some members returned over 100%.
18% of Congress sit on committees that give insider information into the companies whose stocks they reported trading. Over 3 years, those lawmakers reported over 3,700 trades that posed potential conflicts.
The public is ready for reform: 86% of people across party lines support prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks. That includes 87% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats.