CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT

the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum support proposals to ban members of Congress from trading stocks in individual companies, according to a new survey by the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

Of the 2,625 people surveyed, 87% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats, and 81% of independents indicated their support for banning lawmakers and their families from buying, selling and trading individual stocks, according to a release from Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th.

Spanberger has long worked to reduce opportunities for improper trades by lawmakers, the release states.

Earlier this year, she and U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21) reintroduced the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act to effectively ban members of Congress — as well as their spouses and dependent children — from trading individual stocks. The legislation now has more than 60 Democratic and Republican cosponsors. Spanberger and Roy originally introduced the TRUST in Congress Act in June 2020 and reintroduced it in January 2021.

“Throughout the more than three years that we have been leading the effort to make that ban a reality, I’ve heard from Virginians across the Seventh District who are sick and tired of reading headline after headline detailing suspiciously timed trades by lawmakers,” Spanberger said. “The American people could not make themselves more clear — and Democrats and Republicans alike recognize that this reform is long overdue. Our TRUST in Congress Act would remove even the opportunity for impropriety and finally put an end to all trades that don’t pass the smell test.”

The survey also found that 87% of respondents favor a ban on individual stock trading by justices serving on the Supreme Court of the United States, according to the release.