Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said Tuesday on Newsmax that Congress must finally tighten rules on stock trading by lawmakers, arguing that elected officials should not be allowed to profit from nonpublic information while serving in office.
"This time needs to be different," Steil told "National Report" in an interview.
"I want to make sure that members of Congress, elected officials don't profit off of inside information. I think the principle is pretty simplistic."
Steil argued that the 2012 STOCK Act left major gaps that obscure the scope of trading by members.
He noted that "the STOCK Act doesn't … require reporting by specific numbers. It's rather large increments, which gives a lot of distorted pictures as to exactly what's going on."
"And the reporting is 45 days after the fact," added Steil.
He said that structure creates serious transparency problems, especially in high-profile cases.
"Well, the reports on [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi[, D-Calif.,] and her husband are obviously concerning," Steil said, adding that there are other examples that raise red flags.
He pointed to "a United States senator who, in the lead up to the COVID pandemic, called his broker and sold every single one of his stocks but one in his portfolio, well over $1 million," adding, "You have to question whether or not that was done with inside information."
Steil said Congress should look to how public companies police insider trading, saying, "I think there's huge opportunities here." He added that reforms could "increase Americans' confidence as to exactly what is occurring in Washington."
"If you want to go make money and trade stocks for a living, go to Wall Street. Don't go to Capitol Hill," said Steil.
"What we want in Washington is people that are willing to drive forward the American-first agenda and help regular Americans, not enrich themselves."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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