Federal agencies push for insider trading crackdown on their own officials
Republican lawmakers have pushed for more insider trading accountability in Congress
Several federal agencies are pushing for stricter rules on trading and even for investigations into suspicious trading by officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Some U.S. lawmakers have placed a heightened focus on insider trading by members of Congress, but the executive branch has been largely untouched by proposed legislation.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are exploring plans to beef up their ethics rules, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to update its ethics program as well. Finally, the Commerce Department and Agriculture Department have also pointed to internal investigations of officials who break the rules, the WSJ reported Tuesday.
Rules against insider training vary wildly across the executive branch, with the only universal rule being that officials cannot work on issues they've made major investments in financially, the outlet reported.
The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at SEC headquarters. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Photos)
One instance cited by WSJ saw an unnamed SEC official fail to report his financial holdings for seven years. When the matter was referred to the Justice Department (DOJ), it declined to prosecute. Ultimately, the individual was reportedly suspended for a week and lost 16 hours of paid leave.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has proposed legislation seeking similar crackdowns on members of Congress who show conflicts of interest in their financial holdings. The Senate firebrand introduced the Pelosi Act in late January.
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The bill directly references revelations from last year that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, traded between $1 million and $5 million of stocks for semiconductors just days before Congress allocated $52 million to the industry. The stocks were later sold at a loss to remove the appearance of impropriety.
The legislation would require that any profits made by a lawmaker during his or her term be returned to American taxpayers. Hawley’s bill excludes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and Treasury bonds purchases, however.
Sen. Josh Hawley has proposed legislation cracking down on insider trading by members of Congress. ( Al Drago/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)
Hawley's proposal came after a similar bipartisan bill, put forward by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., arose in the House of Representatives. The legislation would have much the same effect as Hawley's.
"Strengthening our democracy and building true resilience against corruption is not just about preventing unethical decisions, but it is also about addressing the feeling among many Americans that their elected officials and government don’t work for them. This perception is damaging to our democracy, and the Trust in Congress Act would help build trust and assure the public that members of Congress are not serving their own financial interests," Spanberger said in January.
Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.