Several members of the House who support legislation to ban themselves from trading equities on the stock market have suggested that the bill may not be enacted because of opposition from Senate and House leadership.
The hearing did not result in the bill being reported to the House floor, which is usually only possible when the House leadership grants political approval for the Rules Committee to begin drafting a special measure to advance it, which has not yet occurred.
“This thing ain’t gonna pass. If we’re going to pass something in the House, the Senate will either (1) not take it up or (2) come back in righteous indignation and say, ‘We need to make this stronger,’” Rep Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said.
“Something totally ridiculous and send it back to us. This is a scam that’s being played on the American public.
“I realize what we’re up against. ... We’re in committee meetings. We hear things before y'all do.
“We probably won’t do it, and I'll remain ticked off for the rest of the day because of this.”
Magaziner said, “Members in both parties do not want this to happen; [those] who are in the ear of leadership are trying to stop this from happening.”
But he expressed more optimism than Burchett.
Recently, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced that she would launch a discharge petition to bring the bill to the floor if it did not advance with the support of leaders.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is seen as the key figure who can permit a vote on the bill in the House.
He has expressed public support for the idea previously, while noting that relatively low congressional salaries, given the frenetic pace of their work in their home state as well as Washington, mean that many members need another source of income.
“I’m in favor of that. I don’t think we should have any appearance of impropriety here. But the other side of it ... the salary of Congress has been frozen since 2009. When you adjust for inflation, a member of Congress is making 31 percent less than they made in that year,” Johnson said in May.
“It goes down every year. Over time, if you stay on this trajectory, you’re going to have less qualified people who are willing to make the extreme sacrifice to run for Congress.”
The salary of U.S. senators and representatives is currently $174,000.
Members of the Senate and House leadership receive greater pay, with Johnson’s salary being $223,500.
The highest-paid official in the U.S. government is the president of the United States, who makes $400,000 per year.
One of Johnson’s predecessors, former House Speaker and incumbent Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has been widely criticized for her publicly known stock portfolio, which is mostly managed by her husband, Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist.
Other members of Congress are known to have earned great returns on the trading of stocks.
Khanna has made the most individual trades, having bought or sold stocks 3,961 times this year.
“Everyone wants to knock Pelosi. Heck, she’s not even in the top 10. Get on the Unusual Whales website,” Burchett said, referring to an online account on social media that tracks the personal finances of elected officials.
“This is pathetic, folks. This place is as crooked as a dog’s leg.”
Pelosi, as speaker in 2021, said: “We are a free market economy. [Members] should be able to participate in [trades].”
