Welp, Congress is royally screwed. The days of our loyal and elected “public” servants enjoying the hampton life with their insider trading profits are soon to be over. Hallalujer!

(Source: CNBC) 

With today’s newly proposed Senate bill that’s set to ban stock trading by members of congress, the air is definitely a bit sweeter knowing that us retail investors won’t be getting shafted on both ends by Wall Street and lawmakers anymore.

(Source: Giphy) 

I mean I’m sure we can all agree that investing or even trading for that matter is already hard enough when pitted up against Wall Street, but when you throw Congress members in the mix… 

Well it’s a whole ‘nother level of “F You Peasants”. But now, as the Senate has officially struck its gavel, congress members might actually have to learn how to start living on their government salaries again. And all God's people said Amen…

(Source: Giphy) 

So what’s this new bill look like in detail? 

Well according to the agreement, this legislation would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from buying or selling stocks. This also includes the President and Vice President. 

(Source: Axios) 

Plus, as if the ruling wasn’t already a slap in the face to lawmakers like the Pelosi’s, the bill, dubbed the ETHICS Act (rightfully named), aims to prevent lawmakers from using insider information to pad their bank accounts. 

(Source: Giphy) 

So yeah, that’s nice, but who do we have to thank for this blessing of justice? Well according to reports, the origination of this motion came from Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) for one simple reason: to save the integrity of the stock market. 

In fact, Hawley said it best during the ruling when he stated, "Congress should not be here to make a buck." Well sir, you sure did get my vote for the November elections… 

(Source: Giphy) 

Now of course, this isn’t the first time someone’s tried to put a leash on lawmakers’ stock trades. The effort has been dragging on for years like a bad soap opera. But the morality of it came into question after several government officials made suspicious trades in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. You know, when the rest of us were panic-buying toilet paper, they were making bank.

(Source: Memebase) 

For instance, Senator Richard Burr faced significant backlash after it was revealed that he sold off substantial stock holdings following private briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. Burr dumped between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stocks in February 2020, just before the market crashed.

(Source: Propublica) 

Former Senator Kelly Loeffler, who was one of the wealthiest members of Congress, also came under fire for her stock trading activities. Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher (the CEO of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange… lolz), reportedly sold millions in stocks after she attended a closed-door Senate briefing about the coronavirus.

(Source: Imgflip) 

“Ok sure, that’s bracing for impact, but what about actually making money?” 

I’m glad you asked - everyone, please stand for the Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom we’ve referred to as America’s #1 stock trader (not an official title, but it might as well be).

(Source: Giphy) 

One of the most notable examples of Mrs. Pelosi’s expert trading skills came when she and her husband, Paul, bought between $500,000 and $1 million of Tesla stock. Which coincidentally came just before the Biden administration announced plans to promote electric vehicles, leading to a significant increase in Tesla's stock price. 

But as if they hadn’t already made enough on Tesla, the following year in June 2021, they bought up $4.8 million worth of Google call options. Nothing wrong with that, but the timing was more than a coincidence.

(Source: Bloomberg) 

Because shortly after, Google skyrocketed resulting in a 28% surge by the end of the year. 

So clearly we can all see that there’s been a problem when it comes to congress and their ability to decipher the market’s future movements. 

(Source: Giphy) 

But once the ETHICS Act passes (hopefully), lawmakers will have 90 days to sell off their stocks. Violators will face a penalty that’s either their monthly salary or 10% of the value of the asset in violation, whichever is greater. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

However with that said, the restriction of lawmaker’s spouses and dependent children won’t actually kick in until 2027. So in theory, they have at least two more years to pull a Jordan Belfort and exercise rat holes to continue siphoning millions in the markets. 

(Source: Giphy) 

So even with that loophole, it will be interesting to see what morals are shown until then. 

But alas, the real satisfying part about all of this is that now Congress might have to finally abide by the same rules as the rest of us mere mortals. 

(Source: Down with Tyranny) 

And while the Senate’s decision to ban stock trading by members of Congress is a step towards restoring some trust in our legislative body - It’s a long-overdue move that sends a clear message: public service should be about serving the public, not their stock portfolio. 

So in conclusion, let’s all raise a glass in honor of finally seeing our lawmakers focus on what really matters - passing laws that benefit the people who elected them. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Stocks.News holds positions in Tesla and Google as mentioned in the article.