Members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate, as well as Supreme Court justices who currently trade cryptocurrencies, may have to stop HODLing while the bill is in office if it gets enough votes.
According to the framework released on Thursday, Zoe Lofgren, chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, who is in charge of the House’s day-to-day operations, said it has a “meaningful and effective plan to combat financial conflicts of interest” in the US. Congress restricts the financial activities of lawmakers and SCOTUS judges, as well as their spouses and children. The bill, if passed under the framework, would reverse the 2012 Congressional Stop Trading Act, which allows members of Congress to buy, sell and trade stocks and make other investments while in office. , but they require you to disclose such transactions.
Congress can work to restore the public’s trust and confidence in their government officials, and those officials can act to protect the public interest, not their personal financial interests, by limiting high-ranking government officials — including members of Congress and members of the Supreme Court — and their spouses. and dependent children investing in and shorting stocks from trading stocks or securities, commodities, futures, cryptocurrencies and other similar investments,” Lofgren said.
she added.
“I will soon be introducing a bill that builds on this reform framework. Many members have concluded that reform is necessary.”
The framework suggests that lawmakers and SCOTUS judges can maintain and disclose portfolios of various mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, treasury bills and other investments that “do not have the same potential for conflicts of interest.” The disclosed amount is more precise than the “extremely broad” range currently used — for example, $5 million to $25 million — and is available to the public.
Under the STOCK Act, lawmakers are required to report purchases, sales or exchanges of more than $1,000 in investment within 30 to 45 days, but the law provides minimal financial and legal consequences for not filing on time — sometimes up to a $200 late fee. The proposed framework proposes to impose a $1,000 penalty on an individual within a 30-day period. House Press Gallery’s Twitter account reported The House may consider the proposed legislation next week.
Senators John Ossoff and Mark Kelly proposed similar amendments to the STOCK Act in the Senate in January, but there has been no movement on the bill for more than 8 months. According to Lofgren, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has assigned the committee to review potential financial conflicts in Congress. However, the Speaker has previously pushed back against efforts by lawmakers to ban stock ownership or trading, saying they “need to be involved in that.”
Related: ON… WHY DO US OFFICIALS IGNORE ETHICS AND STOCK ACT IN STOCK TRADING?
Several House members and senators have expressed exposure to crypto investments, including Representative Marie Newman of Illinois, Representative Michael Waltz of Florida, Senator Cynthia Lammis of Wyoming, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, Representative Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Representative Barry Moore of Alabama, and Representative of New Jersey. Jefferson Van Drew. In the year In December 2021, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it was inappropriate to hold Bitcoin (BTC) or other digital assets because US lawmakers have access to “confidential information and upcoming policy.”