New York”™s Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is teaming with her Republican Missouri colleague Sen. Josh Hawley on a new bill that would prohibit members of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government from owning stock in individual companies.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the bill would allow the president, vice president, congressional legislators and their aides and employees of the executive branch to own mutual funds and broad industry and index funds. But they would be prevented from owning stocks in individual companies, even in blind trusts.
The bill includes penalties for those who violate the rules ”“ executive branch employees would be forced to surrender their profits from stock trading and face fines of $10,000 or more if they are discovered to have ignored the bill”™s limits, while members of Congress would face a penalty of at least 10% of the value of the prohibited investments if they refused to comply.
The Gillibrand-Hawley bill would also create a public database for stock transactions by members of Congress, their staff and the executive branch workforce.
“It is critical that the American people know that their elected leaders are putting the public first, not looking for ways to line their own pockets,” said Gillibrand in a statement.
