A proposal to ban stock trading by members of Congress — and the president and vice president — won bipartisan approval to advance in a committee vote this week.
Arizona’s junior Sen. Ruben Gallego helped move that measure forward.
Gallego, a Democrat, sits on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, which passed the bill in a 8-7 vote Wednesday.
“There’s an opportunity for us to really rebuild that trust with voters that has been eroding for quite some time,” Gallego said.
If approved, the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley would prohibit certain elected officials, their spouses and dependent children from buying or selling stocks.
“This is not just a Republican problem, it is also a Democratic problem,” Gallego said. “I think this is something we can all work together on that we will be very proud of.”
The bill would also require divestment from all covered investments by the beginning of the elected officials’ next term, shielding President Donald Trump from that condition.
“If we don’t actually put some of these guardrails, there will be members of Congress that are going to benefit from this, without a doubt,” Gallego said. “And there will be further and further erosion in the trusts of both Democrats and Republicans.”
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