A New Survey Found 86 Percent of Americans Favor Banning Individual Stock Trading by Lawmakers

Since June 2020, the Congresswoman Has Led the Bipartisan “TRUST in Congress Act” to Ban Members of Congress, Their Spouses, & Dependent Children From Trading Individual Stocks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today is highlighting results of a new survey showing that the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum support proposals — like her own — to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks in individual companies.

According to a survey conducted by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, overwhelming bipartisan majorities of Americans favor prohibiting stock trading in individual companies by Members of Congress. Of the 2,625 Americans surveyed, 87 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 81 percent of Independents indicated their support for banning lawmakers and the family that lives with them from buying, selling, and trading individual stocks.

Spanberger has long worked to reduce opportunities for improper trades by lawmakers. Earlier this year, Spanberger and U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21) reintroduced their bipartisan 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. Specifically, the legislation would require lawmakers and their families to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress. The legislation now has more than 60 Democratic and Republican cosponsors — the most of any proposal to ban congressional stock trading in either the U.S. House or U.S. Senate. Spanberger and Roy originally introduced the TRUST in Congress Act in June 2020 — and they reintroduced it in January 2021.

“The numbers have been and continue to be clear — the vast majority of Americans of all political persuasions support a ban on individual stock trading by Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children,” said Spanberger. “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. 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 percent of respondents favor a ban on individual stock trading by Justices serving on the Supreme Court of the United States. Earlier this year, Spanberger helped introduce the Justice is BLIND Act to block federal judges — including Supreme Court Justices — from holding certain financial interests and individual stocks that may present conflicts of interest with cases they are deciding, unless those assets are in a blind trust.

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