Rep. Mark Alford moves to spearhead a significant congressional reform targeting stock trading practices among lawmakers and their spouses.
According to Fox News, Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., is set to introduce legislation mirroring Sen. Josh Hawley's "PELOSI Act" in the Senate, which would prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks while in office.
The proposed legislation establishes a 180-day window for current lawmakers to divest their individual stock holdings once enacted. The bill permits investments in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and U.S. Treasury bonds as alternatives to individual stock ownership.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has thrown his support behind the trading ban initiative, acknowledging the damage caused by "a few bad actors" to public trust. His endorsement marks a significant shift in the congressional leadership's stance on financial reform measures.
President Donald Trump has also expressed his willingness to sign such legislation if it reaches his desk. During a recent Time magazine interview, Trump specifically referenced Nancy Pelosi's trading activities as a motivating factor for supporting the ban.
The initiative has garnered bipartisan support, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joining the growing chorus of lawmakers advocating for stricter trading regulations.
Rep. Alford provided his rationale for the legislation:
As public servants, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard and avoid the mere appearance of corruption. Unfortunately, too many members of Congress are engaging in suspicious stock trades based on non-public information to enrich themselves. These gross violations of the public trust make clear: we must finally take action to ban members and their spouses from owning or selling individual stocks.
The legislation includes strict penalties for non-compliance. Lawmakers who continue making prohibited transactions would be required to surrender their profits to the U.S. Treasury Department. Additionally, House or Senate ethics committees could impose fines amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction.
New members of Congress would face the same 180-day compliance deadline upon taking office, ensuring consistent application of the rules across both chambers.
The proposed legislation represents a rare instance of cross-party collaboration in today's political climate. Democratic leaders have shown openness to working with their Republican counterparts on this issue.
The bill's introduction follows increasing public scrutiny of congressional trading activities and demands for greater transparency in lawmakers' financial dealings.
Recent polls indicate growing public support for restrictions on congressional stock trading, with voters from both parties expressing concern about potential conflicts of interest.
Rep. Alford's House version of the PELOSI Act marks a crucial step in addressing concerns about congressional stock trading. The Missouri representative's legislation, supported by both Republican and Democratic leadership, aims to restore public trust by implementing strict trading restrictions on lawmakers and their spouses. The proposed bill's 180-day compliance window and clear enforcement mechanisms demonstrate a serious commitment to reform. With endorsements from President Trump, House Speaker Johnson, and Minority Leader Jeffries, the legislation appears positioned for consideration in both chambers of Congress.
