Support the Stock Act

Floor Speech

Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, it has been 4 days since the CBS News program ``60 Minutes'' ran a troubling piece on insider trading in this very House. Mr. Speaker, you and I and our colleagues are the only people in this august body today who are exempt from insider trading rules.

How do we expect the public to take us seriously about anything we do when there is the belief that people here are enriching themselves from the knowledge they gain on the job? Even the perception of wrongdoing undermines the trust in the democracy.

The good news is that Ms. Slaughter, myself, and now 55 of our colleagues have joined together to put an end to this practice. The STOCK Act that I rise and encourage my colleagues to join us on would stop trading on congressional knowledge. It would put Congress on the same playing field of every teacher, firefighter, small business owner, and investor. Then we can get down to the business of making America right--by creating jobs. I encourage my colleagues to join me.

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