“Senators are profiting from their positions”: Florida Sen. teams up with Democrat, introduces explosive anti-corruption push
Florida – A bipartisan attempt to stop members of Congress from trading individual stocks is gaining momentum. Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody has joined New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a revived effort to modify long-standing ethics regulations on Capitol Hill.
The two senators are getting ready to introduce a bill that would make it illegal for lawmakers and their close family members to buy, sell, or own individual stocks while they are in office.
The plan is a response to growing public pressure to deal with concerns that elected officials might make money from information they get while working for the government. In recent years, lawmakers from both parties have come under fire for making stock trades at the same time as private briefings or policy debates. This has raised concerns about conflicts of interest and public trust.
Gillibrand said the issue cuts across party lines and resonates broadly with voters.
“There’s an American consensus around this, not a partisan consensus, that members of Congress and, frankly, senior members of administrations and the White House, shouldn’t be making money off the backs of the American people,” Gillibrand said in an interview with the AP.
Moody’s engagement brings in a Republican voice from a state where the two parties are competing for power. She is running for her first full term in the Senate after being appointed to the seat after Marco Rubio left to become secretary of state. Her decision to co-sponsor the bill shows how the topic has become more important on the campaign trail, where candidates from both parties often promise to support limits on congressional stock trading.
“The American people must be able to trust that their elected officials are focused on results for the American people and not focused on profiting from their positions,” Moody wrote to AP.
The Senate plan is similar to a bill that Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy and Rhode Island Democrat Rep. Seth Magaziner presented in the House last year. That bill, which has 125 co-sponsors, would make it illegal for members of Congress to trade individual stocks. Supporters claim that a clear ban like this one closes any loopholes and makes people trust the federal government again.
At the same time, the expanding number of competing plans has made it harder to move forward. Republican leaders in the House are supporting a different bill that would stop legislators and their spouses from buying new individual stocks but let them maintain the ones they already own. The bill would also require public notice before a stock sale. Critics argue that approach falls short because it does not fully eliminate potential conflicts.
Some lawmakers are trying to make things happen. A Republican from Florida, Anna Paulina Luna, is trying to get a separate House measure through a discharge petition that would go around leadership and bring the matter straight to the floor. Most of the signatures she has gotten so far are from Democrats, which shows that lawmakers from both parties are working together in unique ways.
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Even while it has gotten more attention, it is still not certain if the Senate measure will move forward. A similar bill that was submitted in 2023 by both parties got stuck in committee. Gillibrand added, nevertheless, that the pressure is growing and the political climate has changed. She stated that voters are constantly calling for change and that now is the time for Congress to act.
