Chris Deluzio Advocates For ‘Common Sense, Anti-Corruption’ Congressional Stock Trading Ban

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the House floor prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) spoke in support of a ban on congressional stock trading.

Transcript

00:00From Pennsylvania, Mr. DeLuzio for two minutes.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the leadership from the gentleman from Rhode Island,

00:07Mr. Magaziner, and from Texas, Mr. Roy, for bringing us together tonight.

00:11Imagine that. Some Democrats, Republicans in this chamber, in this town,

00:15want to do something about corruption. That's a good thing. I hope the American people are paying attention.

00:19I will tell you, it is clear from conversations with my constituents in western Pennsylvania,

00:24and I know from people all over this country, they think our system is rigged.

00:28Rigged against hardworking people, rigged for giant corporations, and the rich and the powerful.

00:34That kind of corporate power, it doesn't just happen.

00:37It's enabled by pliable politicians, by a Supreme Court that opens the floodgates

00:42to unlimited super PAC money that corrupts our elections.

00:47And we should fight that, and you want to fight corruption?

00:49Yeah, let's start with getting that unlimited corporate money out of our politics.

00:53But you've got to have some credibility, and this chamber, this town, this Congress,

00:57needs more credibility.

00:59One way to build that back is to start with banning congressional stock trading.

01:03I think it's an easy place to start.

01:05You talk to people in western PA, you talk to people all over this country,

01:07they think it's ridiculous that folks in power and elected office get rich off the inside

01:13and sense of information that we learn in our jobs, serving the people,

01:17representing the people who elect us.

01:18No one should be using that information to enrich themselves, to get rich off of a public trust.

01:25So I'm proud to be here in a bipartisan fashion, joining with members of both parties

01:29who support this common-sense anti-corruption idea, let's ban congressional stock trading.

01:35Wherever we see corruption, we should be calling it out, we should be fighting it, we should take it on.

01:40Our democracy turns on public trust.

01:43People having some faith in their elected representatives.

01:47And what we're railing against here, members trading stock based on information we learn,

01:54that erodes that public trust.

01:56Let's be smart, let's come together, let's call out this corruption for what it is.

01:59I again commend my colleagues from Rhode Island, Mr. Magaziner, from Texas, Mr. Roy,

02:04for bringing us together to that end, and I yield back, Mr. Speaker.

02:08I'd now like to yield to the gentlewoman from California.

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