NO BRAINER: Spanberger’s Bipartisan “TRUST in Congress Act” Makes National Taxpayers Union’s 12th Annual “No Brainers” List

The Congresswoman’s Legislation is One of 10 Bipartisan Bills Selected for the List of Legislative Items NTU is Pushing Congress to Get Done

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) today selected U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s bipartisan legislation to ban Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks for their 12th Annual “No Brainers” list of bills that Congress should pass.

NTU selects 10 bills to add to the list each year. According to the organization, the legislation must be bipartisan, must propose a commonsense solution to a problem facing taxpayers, and must not have been on a prior “No Brainers” list. This year, Spanberger’s bipartisan Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act was selected for the list.

In January 2021, Spanberger and U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21) reintroduced their TRUST in Congress Act, bipartisan legislation to increase transparency and reduce opportunities for insider trading by requiring that Members of Congress — as well as their spouses and dependent children — put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress. Their bill now has 67 cosponsors from both parties.

“Preventing Members of Congress — and their spouses and dependent children — from trading individual stocks during their time in office is a true No Brainer,” said Andrew Lautz, Director of Federal Policy, NTU. “We’re proud to include Rep. Spanberger’s TRUST in Congress Act on our 12th annual No Brainers list of bipartisan legislation Congress should pass in 2022. NTU thanks Rep. Spanberger for her leadership in putting a stop to Congressional stock trading.”

“The effort to ban Members of Congress — as well as their spouses and dependent children — from trading individual stocks continues to gain momentum across the political spectrum. I’m grateful for the strong support of the National Taxpayers Union and all of the organizations that are pushing for this commonsense reform,” said Spanberger. “In our district, I continue to hear from Virginia taxpayers who want their elected officials to reiterate their commitment to public service — not their commitment to their stock portfolios. Lawmakers should move immediately to get this done and make that commitment crystal clear.”

Earlier this month, Spanberger helped spearhead a bipartisan effort pushing U.S. House leadership to bring legislation to the floor of the U.S. House before September 30 to ban Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks while serving in office.

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