Davids Joins Legislation to Prevent Insider Trading, Strengthen Transparency & Accountability in Government

This week, Representative Sharice Davids announced her support for bipartisan legislation to prevent insider trading by Members of Congress and increase government accountability. Davids signed on to the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act, which would promote transparency and reduce opportunities for inappropriate or corrupt use of elected office by requiring Members of Congress to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust during their tenure.

Read more in the Kansas Reflector: "U.S. Rep. Davids backs legislation to avoid insider trading by members of Congress"

"U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas endorsed bipartisan government transparency legislation Tuesday that would reduce opportunities for insider trading by members of Congress by requiring certain assets to be placed in a blind trust."

"Members of Congress are elected to positions of public trust and therefore should be held to a high standard, especially given our potential access to non-public information. Frankly, I know many Members disagree, including Democratic leadership--but I believe we need these guardrails to restore trust and prevent abuse of power," said Davids. "Particularly during COVID, we've seen elected officials appear to misuse that privilege for personal gain on the stock market, which is absolutely unacceptable. Kansans deserve better. This bill should be brought to the floor for a vote."

The TRUST in Congress Act establishes a new firewall between Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate--as well as their spouses and dependent children--and their investments, ensuring that they cannot use their positions to unethically inform investment decisions or influence the value of their existing investments. Davids has not made any individual stock trades during her tenure in Congress.

Specifically, the TRUST in Congress Act would:

Require all Members of Congress, and their spouses and dependent children, to put certain investment assets into a qualified blind trust within 90 days after the enactment of this legislation. New Members of Congress, and their spouses and dependent children, would be required to place covered investments into a qualified blind trust within 90 days of assuming office. Affected individuals can remove assets from the blind trust 180 days after the Member leaves Congress.
Require all Members to either 1) certify to the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate that they have established a blind trust to include covered investments or 2) certify to the Clerk or the Secretary that they do not own any covered investments. The status of these certifications would be made publicly available by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate.
Define covered investments as the following: a security, commodity, future, or any comparable economic interest acquired through synthetic means such as the use of a derivative.
Clarify that the following do not qualify as covered investments for the purpose of this bill: a widely held investment fund (such as a mutual fund) or a U.S. Treasury bill, note, or bond. These investments would not have to be placed in a blind trust.

Introduced by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), the bipartisan bill has 57 House co-sponsors and has been endorsed by many key advocacy and government accountability organizations, including the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Public Citizen, Government Information Watch, Protect Democracy, Government Accountability Project, FreedomWorks, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Issue One, Open the Government, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Campaign Legal Center, Americans for Prosperity, Democracy 21, Fix the Court, End Citizens United Action Fund, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Click here for the full bill text.

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