New Jeff Merkley Bill Would Prevent Members Of Congress From Owning Stock In Companies Whose Value They Affect

When I met Jeff Merkley in 2007, he was Oegon's state House speaker and a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Gordon Smith. He was a working class guy seeking to join a millionaires club. As minority leader of the state legislature, he directed the successful Democratic drive to win the majority and was unanimously elected speaker in 2006. He ran as an unabashed progressive from day one and Blue America endorsed him. He's never disappointed us and has maintained an "A" rating from ProgressivePunch. This cycle, he and Elizabeth Warren are the only two members with perfect 100% crucial vote scores. In 2016, he was the only senator to endorse Bernie for president. This cycle, like several Bernie supporters, he is competing for early support towards winning the Democratic presidential nomination. I don't know if he'll stay in the race if Bernie decides to run. I feel like he would be tied with Elizabeth Warren as my second choice if Bernie doesn't run. You'll never find him on the list of the Worst Democrats Who Want To Be President.

On Thursday, Merkley penned an essay about a bill he and Sherrod Brown have introduced, the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, that would prohibit members of Congress from abusing their public positions for personal financial gain. Following congressional insider trading scandals in the last couple of years, involving Chris Collins (R-NY) and Tom Price (R-GA), Merkley's bill would ban legislators and top staffers from trading stocks while participating in decisions affecting their value. The next step would be to ban legislators from accepting contributions from companies or executives whose business comes before any committees they serve on, but that isn't a step Merkley and Brown have taken, at least not yet. Merkley:

The Ban Conflicted Trading Act follows two major congressional trading scandals in recent years.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) bought nearly $1 million in discounted shares from the Australian pharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics. Chris Collins sat on the company’s board, while he and his family members owned about 20%--  with a personal investment worth $720,000--  of the company. He sat on the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce during that time. On August 8, 2018 Collins was arrested by the FBI, along with his son and son’s father-in-law, for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and lying to the FBI in connection with his activities related to Innate Immuno. Representatives Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Conaway (R-TX) and John Culberson (R-TX) also bought shares in Innate Immuno.

Meanwhile, in January 2017, it became apparent that then-Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary nominee Tom Price (R-GA), who sat on the Ways and Means Committee and Health Subcommittee during his time in Congress, had made dozens of stock trades in the health industry over a multi-year period while also acting as a top health care policymaker. While legislating, he advocated for the interests of a company he was invested in, Amgen, without disclosing the conflict of interest. And less than a week after purchasing shares in Zimmer Biomet, a medical devices company, Price introduced legislation to delay a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid regulation until 2018--  a move that would protect the company’s finances. After introducing the act, Price’s reelection campaign received a donation from Zimmer Biomet’s PAC. In total, Price held stock in more than 40 companies that created conflicts of interest for his position as Secretary of HHS.

The Ban Conflicted Trading Act would prohibit members of Congress and senior congressional staff from buying or selling individual stocks and other investments while in office.

New members would be allowed to sell individual holdings within six months of being elected, and sitting members of Congress would be allowed to sell individual holdings within six months after enactment of the bill. Alternatively, members of Congress can choose to hold existing investments while in office-- with no option for trading until they leave office--  or transfer them to a blind trust. Members of Congress would still be allowed to hold widely-held investments, such as diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

In addition, the legislation would prohibit members of Congress from serving on any corporate boards while in office.