Biden advocates for stock trading ban for Congress members
3 Min Read
Earlier in his presidency, Biden refrained from taking a stance on congressional stock ownership, an issue that sparked significant controversy when lawmakers profited during the COVID pandemic.
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President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, December 16, 2024 (AP)
US President Joe Biden joined Tuesday the growing bipartisan push to prohibit congressional members from trading stocks, emphasizing the importance of integrity in public service.
"I don't know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because of the job they gave you, gave you an inside track to make more money," he said during an interview for A More Perfect Union news outlet.
"I think we should be changing the law," he told host Faiz Shakir, a political advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders.
The US president considered that "nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while they're in the Congress."
The comments come as a bipartisan coalition of Senators — Democrats Jon Ossoff, Gary Peters, and Jeff Merkley, along with Republican Josh Hawley — introduced legislation in July to ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependents from buying or selling individual stocks. Similar bills have also been proposed in the House of Representatives.
Earlier in his presidency, Biden refrained from taking a stance on congressional stock ownership, an issue that sparked significant controversy when lawmakers profited during the COVID pandemic.
During Tuesday's interview, Biden also criticized corporate practices, particularly offshoring, blaming corporate greed for the decline in US-made products.
"Corporate America got greedy and what they decided to do is find the cheapest labor in the world," he stated.
On the economy, Biden reflected on public sentiment, acknowledging that many Americans feel disheartened despite improving macroeconomic indicators — a factor he attributed to the Democrats’ loss in the 2024 election.
"It’s just beginning to sink in," Biden said, referring to the long-term investment policies his administration has enacted. "I think that it's hard to tell someone about the hundreds of thousands of jobs we created with the CHIPS and Science Act when they haven't seen it yet."
He acknowledged that prices remain higher than pre-pandemic levels for basic goods such as milk and eggs but noted they are "just starting to change."
"So there's reason for frustration, but there's gigantic change been made," he claimed, while recognizing that it is harder for many Americans to make ends meet today compared to previous years.
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