Rep. George Whitesides Leads Way to Legislation to Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. George Whitesides (CA-27) announced he joined the Restore Trust in Congress Act, bipartisan legislation that would ban members of Congress and their families from owning individual stocks or engaging in insider trading. 

“I’ve always said it is unacceptable that members of Congress can trade individual stocks while in office, which is why I immediately followed through on my promise to divest all of my company-specific, publicly traded stock holdings,” said Rep. Whitesides. “Now, I’m proud to help lead the charge to ban stock trading in Congress. The American people deserve to know that their representatives are working in their best interests, not for any personal financial gain.”

In March, Rep. Whitesides became one of only a few members of Congress to voluntarily divest from every public, company-specific holding he owned and convert them to broadly-held mutual funds and ETFs in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest with his future Congressional work.  Now, he joins the bipartisan group of members of Congress working to require this same divestment from all U.S. Representatives.

The Restore Trust in Congress Act would prohibit all Members of Congress, their spouses, dependent children, and their trustees from owning, buying or selling individual stocks, securities, commodities, or futures. Upon enactment, individuals would be prohibited from purchasing covered assets and must divest from all covered assets at fair market value within 180 days for current members and 90 days for incoming members. Individuals who acquire covered assets through inheritance during the course of their service will be required to divest those assets within 90 days of receipt.

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