{"id":398605,"date":"2022-01-24T23:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/house-members-call-for-an-end-to-lawmakers-trading-stocks-is-crypto-next\/"},"modified":"2022-01-24T23:35:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T20:35:00","slug":"house-members-call-for-an-end-to-lawmakers-trading-stocks-is-crypto-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/house-members-call-for-an-end-to-lawmakers-trading-stocks-is-crypto-next\/","title":{"rendered":"# House members call for an end to lawmakers trading stocks \u2014 is crypto next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“# House members call for an end to lawmakers trading stocks \u2014 is crypto next? <\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

Congresspeople currently HODLing or actively trading in crypto may have to stop doing so while in office if recent pushes to ban lawmakers from investing in stocks gain enough support.<\/p>\n

In a Monday letter addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, 27 members of the U.S. House of Representatives called<\/a> for action \u201cto prohibit members of Congress from owning or trading stocks.\u201d Among the bipartisan group of lawmakers who signed onto the letter was Illinois congressperson Bill Foster, who is also a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. In addition, the letter seems to have support from politicians diametrically opposed on major issues like Progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib and Republican Matt Gaetz, who is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly violating<\/a> sex trafficking laws and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n

Members of Congress are currently allowed to buy, sell and trade stocks and other investments while in office, but are also bound to disclose such moves by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, passed in 2012. This piece of legislation requires lawmakers to report any purchase, sale or exchange over $1,000 within 30 to 45 days but provides minimal financial and legal consequences for not filing in time. The Monday letter noted that the STOCK Act \u201chad been violated hundreds of times just since 2020.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear the current rules are not working,\u201d said the letter to Pelosi and McCarthy. \u201cCongress should close these loopholes by simply banning members from owning or trading individual stocks while in office. In addition to ensuring that members\u2019 access to information doesn\u2019t advantage them over the public when trading stocks, as the STOCK Act sought, this would end the potential corruption of lawmakers pursuing policy outcomes that benefit their portfolios.\u201d<\/p>\n

The House members added:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no reason that members of Congress need to be allowed to trade stocks when we should be focused on doing our jobs and serving our constituents. Perhaps this means some of our colleagues will miss out on lucrative investment opportunities. We don\u2019t care. We came to Congress to serve our country, not turn a quick buck.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Senators Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly proposed<\/a> a similar piece of legislation for the U.S. Senate on Jan. 12. Ossoff referenced a survey from the advocacy group Convention of States Action, which found that roughly 76% of voters said<\/a> that lawmakers and their spouses had an \u201cunfair advantage and should not be allowed to trade stocks while serving in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaker Pelosi does not seem to have responded to the letter from House members. However, when questioned about a possible ban on lawmakers being allowed to trade stocks in December, she said<\/a> \u201cwe\u2019re a free-market economy \u2014 they should be able to participate in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez \u2014 whose name did not app<\/a>ear on the letter to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy \u2014 said in December she believed members should neither hold nor trade individual stocks, hinting that to do so would allow them to \u201cremain impartial about policy making.\u201d She added that she extended this belief to holding digital assets and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). <\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>House memo details Congress\u2019 priorities ahead of crypto CEO hearing<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cointelegraph reported last Tuesday that seven members of Congress from both the Senate and House had declared investments in crypto during their time in office. Among lawmakers with the highest reported exposure were New Jersey Representative Jefferson Van Drew and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, who disclosed a 2020 investment of $250,000 in a trust operated by Grayscale, and a 2021 BTC purchase of up to $100,000, respectively.<\/p>\n

Cointelegraph reached out to Representative Bill Foster for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.<\/em><\/p>\n