Todd Young Details Legislation That Would Ban Lawmakers From Stock Trading

[00:00:03]Mr. President, Americans don't appear to agree on very much these days, but there is at least one thing on which the American people can agree.

[00:00:21]It's this thing that brings the American people together.

[00:00:25]Our citizens, no matter their politics, don't trust their leaders.

[00:00:33]The list of institutions that Americans have lost faith in is long. We know this.

[00:00:41]We also know that Congress is at the bottom.

[00:00:44]In fact, over 80% of Americans disapprove of the job we're doing in this building.

[00:00:54]Mr. President, the legislative branch is the foundation of representative government.

[00:01:02]It's urgent.

[00:01:03]It's essential that we earn the trust of the American people back.

[00:01:08]You see, we are charged with putting the interests of our constituents over our own interests.

[00:01:15]We're their voice.

[00:01:18]And yet, many of the people we represent believe we're failing to honor that basic commitment.

[00:01:26]It's no wonder many are losing faith, losing trust.

[00:01:32]We're their voice.

[00:01:36]Our faith in government has has eroded over decades. There are many causes. Uh A lot of fingers can be pointed.

[00:01:44]There's plenty of blame to go around.

[00:01:48]And we know that the task of restoring trust is going to be a long-term project.

[00:01:54]But I'm here today to argue that there is an immediate step that we need to take to restore a measure of trust in this institution.

[00:02:04]And it is eminently achievable.

[00:02:09]We can prevent its members from using their positions of public trust to enrich themselves.

[00:02:16]To enrich their families by banning stock trading among members of Congress.

[00:02:25]You see as lawmakers, Mr. President, we write and pass bills that significantly impact the market. We do it on a daily basis. We sit on committees of jurisdiction that oversee entire sectors of America's economy.

[00:02:41]We have access to briefings and updates on a regular basis that provide non-public market information.

[00:02:53]There's little to prohibit members of Congress from using such privileged information to guide their personal selection of stocks.

[00:03:05]In fact, in the last two decades, members have made trades conspicuously timed around market-moving events.

[00:03:15]Events shaped by information they had access to or legislation that they helped advance.

[00:03:23]Of course, this creates a direct conflict of interest between public duty and and personal financial interests.

[00:03:33]And it's also a a troubling double standard.

[00:03:38]Most people say, "Isn't insider trading a federal crime for all Americans?" And it is.

[00:03:46]But when it comes to members of Congress trading on information gained through public service, enforcement is is quite rare and very difficult to police.

[00:04:00]So, Mr. President, it's it's no wonder many Americans are convinced that the market is rigged for a privileged set of citizens who who can manipulate it for their gain.

[00:04:14]Now, to be fair, in 2012, Congress made some headway in addressing this unfairness. They passed the STOCK Act.

[00:04:24]This law gets this mandates that lawmakers report stock trades over $1,000 within 30 days of the transaction.

[00:04:34]But, the enforcement mechanism an initial fine of a mere $200 is virtually toothless.

[00:04:47]So, Mr. President, the underlying problem remains and it should not.

[00:04:53]Today, roughly 200 members of Congress own shares in publicly traded companies.

[00:05:00]Many of them most of them are are good people. They're ethical people. They came here for all the right reasons and many have not lost their way.

[00:05:09]And among those 200 members, many sit on committees that craft policy for and and conduct oversight on the very industries in which they invest.

[00:05:23]>> [snorts] >> In an era of deep partisanship most Americans, no matter their political beliefs, their party, their underlying ideology the geography in which they live their gender, their age, they see this as a problem.

[00:05:50]How much of a problem?

[00:05:56]Well, according to a survey conducted by the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Mr. President, 86% of our population supports a prohibition on congressional stock trading.

[00:06:12]There aren't many issues like this. In a divided America, this could unify America.

[00:06:19]Our Congress could be unified by exercising the will of the American people and banning members of Congress from trading stocks.

[00:06:30]What do Republicans say? 87% of Republicans think this is a problem, think we should ban members of Congress from trading stocks. That's You go across the country, almost nine out of 10 Republicans you talk to will say we should do it.

[00:06:47]And why have we not?

[00:06:51]What about Democrats? 87 88% rather of of Democrats.

[00:06:57]Almost nine out of 10.

[00:07:01]Independents?

[00:07:03]81%.

[00:07:06]So, listen, there are two bills that we already have.

[00:07:10]I don't need to draft a new bill.

[00:07:12]Let's recognize our colleagues' handywork and and and get something important done. Two bills that would accomplish this in the United States Senate. The first bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, would just prevent members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks, and it would strengthen disclosure and enforcement requirements.

[00:07:39]And unlike current law, the bill would impose meaningful financial penalties for violations.

[00:07:47]Under this this bill, lawmakers who fail to comply with the law's mandates would be fined the greater of $2,000. Probably still not enough, but enough maybe to get it passed through the Senate. We can increase it later.

[00:08:01]Be fined the greater of $2,000 or 10% of the investment value.

[00:08:07]Plus the forfeiture of any net gain realized from the sale.

[00:08:12]The second bill, the Restore Trust in Congress Act, would prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stock.

[00:08:19]It would establish guidelines for members to divest existing holdings within a defined period.

[00:08:27]And it would also empower congressional ethics offices to enforce compliance through meaningful penalties.

[00:08:36]Now look, Mr. President, there is no easy or quick way to restore complete trust um in in Congress, faith in this essential institution of of uh democratic government, but prohibiting members of Congress from leveraging their positions of public trust for personal enrichment will go a long way.

[00:08:57]I think most Americans would acknowledge that would be a meaningful step towards that goal.

[00:09:04]Passing these bills will ensure stock trading comes to an end in Congress and and help restore trust in us, those who serve.

[00:09:15]I would even call it as a as a personal matter, it would be a gesture of self-respect for politicians to embrace this reform.

[00:09:27]It's what the people we represent want.

[00:09:30]So, I just ask my colleagues, let us be beyond reproach.

[00:09:37]Let us avoid all appearances of impropriety.

[00:09:42]Let us not disappoint the American people again. It is time to ban members of Congress from trading stock.

[00:09:52]Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.