Nebraska senator brings in ethics legislation
A recent hot topic has been the trade of securities – such as stocks – for congress members. One of the most notable members of Congress, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 12th), has profited nicely on her portfolio after making as much as $30 million from big tech stocks. Pelosi, being one of the richest members of congress, has an estimated net worth of $106 million. While her husband does run a venture capital and investing firm, suspicions grew once the Pelosis bought one million dollars worth of Tesla call options a month before President Biden signed an executive order to purchase 650,000 U.S. made, zero emission electric cars.
When asked earlier about her thoughts on a Congressional stock ban, Speaker Pelosi quickly said, “No. We’re a free-market economy, [Congress members] should be able to participate in that.” Current congressional rules state that members have to report all current transactions, but a bill introduced by Neb. Senator Ben Sasse would change those rules in a major way.
Sasse’s ethics legislation would make five changes to Congress. Starting with prohibiting members of congress from buying or selling stocks during their time in office, the legislation would ban members of congress from making money lobbying, prohibit the immediate family of cabinet members and President/Vice President from soliciting donations from foreign sources, require that presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ tax returns are disclosed and prohibit foreign nationals from funding state and local ballot initiatives and referenda. This is a combination of bills that Senator Sasse introduced in 2018, S.3451, the Congressional Anti-Corruption Act, and the Presidential Tax Transparency Act. None of these bills gained any traction at the time, but with this becoming a growing issue, it will likely receive more Senate attention.
Along with personal finances, this bill would ban foreign nationals from contributing to ballot measure campaigns, which was allowed by the Federal Election Commission last year. Foreign nationals are not allowed to spend on American elections, except for this circumstance.
During his time in office, Senator Sasse has been one of the more financially strict members of Congress, and has fought for public trust. In a statement on his website, Senator Sasse says, “People hate politics, and politicians have worked hard to earn that hate. If Congress wants to rebuild some public trust, we ought to put some pretty simple rules on Washington.” While this bill has potential, it may hit too close to home for some members of Congress to support.
By Andrew Schwartz