It should be common sense that members of Congress should not be able to use their knowledge of upcoming votes and legislation to gain a financial advantage over their constituents. This means that we need strict, enforceable lows that put firm limits on the investing activities of our elected representatives.
Investment returns for members of Congress should be a result of stock market gains that the people they represent can obtain, not the result of strategic trades based on non-public knowledge or avoiding sectors that they know will be negatively impacted by their own legislation
I would vote for legislation that requires members of Congress, their spouses and their staff to:
- Only be allowed to own broad market investment funds, United States Treasuries, Municipal Bonds issued from the State they represent, and passively managed corporate bond funds.
- Adhere to a minimum 1-year holding period on any investment they own.
- Prohibits the purchase of sector-specific investments
- Prohibits the purchase or sale of options contracts
- Prohibits the establishment of short stock positions.
Leave a Reply