The Ethics Code We Desperately Need in Congress

Article by Ravin Bhatia, TPT Staff Writer

For Congressman Alan Lownethal, a Democrat of California’s 47th district, March 6, 2020, was a memorable day. The House Transportation Committee, of which he has been a member since 2017, published its damning preliminary findings into Boeing’s mismanagement of its 737 MAX, which was involved in two fatal crashes that left a total of 346 people, including 8 Americans, dead. What was more memorable to his constituents, however, was the insight that Mr. Lowenthal’s wife, Dr. Deborah Malumed, had, the day prior, sold shares of the company -- a conspicuous and downright chilling conflict of interest.

Sadly, even horrifyingly, Mr. Lowenthal’s story is hardly the only one of its kind. It’s hardly even one of a few. According to a New York Times report published on September 13, 2022, an astounding 97 members of Congress disclosed “trades by themselves or immediate family members in stocks or other financial assets that intersected with the work of committees on which they serve” between 2019 and 2021. This included prominent figures on both sides of the aisle, including Dianne Feinstein, the senior senator from California; Rand Paul, a 2016 Republican presidential hopeful from Kentucky; and Ro Khanna, a Deputy Whip for the House Progressive Caucus.

Often, Congresspeople and Senators maintain that their family’s shares are purchased or sold by brokers who hold no knowledge of their clients’ Congressional work or responsibilities. But that perfectly epitomizes the problem of Congressional stock trading: politicians escape with serious and deeply troubling conflicts of interest by claiming that they have operated within the law.

To assert that this is not problematic, or even dangerous, would be a prevarication of epic proportions. It is indicative of the way politicians have, in recent years, profited off of the very events that leave hardworking, ordinary Americans struggling to make ends meet. The potential harm something could pose for their constituents holds no importance as long as they can line their pockets. (Still not convinced of this from the aforementioned examples? See Richard Burr, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman who sold between $628,000 and $1.7 million worth of stock on Feb. 13, 2020, only a few weeks before the pandemic began to ravage the economy and stock market.)

Given the heavily-felt repercussions of the January 6th insurrection on our democracy, as well as the public’s significant disapproval of Congress’s work, this bodes extremely poorly not only for the Congresspeople and Senators entangled in these conflicts of interest, but also for Congress itself and the very concept of democracy.

However, this does not signify that all hope is lost as a consequence of this dilemma. In fact, there are two pieces of legislation in Congress that would achieve the ideal of limiting Congressional stock trading: Sen Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s “Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership,” which would inhibit members of Congress and their spouses from owning or trading stocks; and Sens. Mark Kelly and Jon Ossoff’s “Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act,” which “would compel members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children to place certain investments into blind trusts or divest them.” Despite the indisputable necessity for legislation like these, there appears to be a lack of bipartisan support for both, which has led Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon to claim that a vote on either is “not going to happen before the election.”

These bills need to be held for a vote on the Senate and House floors. Ro Khanna, Alan Lowenthal, Dianne Feinstein, Rand Paul, and the other 93 Congressional members who have been exposed for their corruption, rid yourselves of your hypocrisy. Stop dragging your feet and push for these bills. It is simply too important. It is, perhaps, the most consequential action we will see from Congress for a long while: it could save our democracy as we know it, or it could destroy it. The decision is in your hands.