Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) delivered a pointed message to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday, demanding a floor vote this fall on the TRUST Act as soon as Congress returns from the August recess.
The Texas Republican told Fox Business that his legislation is aimed at banning members of Congress from trading stocks based on insider knowledge. Roy added that members of Congress should not be "profiteering" off of their jobs as lawmakers.
“You know, one of the first things I did in Congress was join with a Democrat colleague to introduce a bill we call the TRUST Act — to ban members of Congress from trading stocks,” Roy said, underscoring the bipartisan roots of the legislation he proposed with Rep,. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.)
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Roy's bill seeks to restore integrity to Capitol Hill by prohibiting legislators from profiting off information gleaned in office, saying: “I think it’s pretty simple. I don’t think you should be able to profit on what you’re learning when you’re in Congress."
But Roy’s remarks went further than mere criticism. He turned to Speaker Johnson and delivered a direct ultimatum: “I told the Speaker [Johnson] this… We need to bring this to the floor. We need to vote on it. I’m going to demand that we vote on this in the fall.”
Led by Roy, Magaziner, Greg Stanton (D‑Ariz.) and others, the bipartisan bill would require members, their spouses and dependent children to divest or place individual stock holdings into qualified blind trusts within 180 days of enactment (or within 90 days after taking office). Compliance must be certified and made public.
The bill enjoys broad advocacy endorsements across the political spectrum, including groups like Public Citizen, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), End Citizens United, and Protect Democracy.
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Watch the clip of Roy's segment on Fox Business below, or by clicking this link.