House leaders have been touting a ban on congressional stock trades as a key piece of legislation, but behind the scenes, some lawmakers are worried that House Speaker Mike Johnson may be using the proposal to delay its passage.
Despite polls showing supermajority support for the measure, Johnson has expressed hesitation about moving forward with it. Instead, he's suggested holding a hearing to discuss the flaws in current rules on congressional stock trades, which could potentially be used as a way to stall progress on the bill.
Some of the bill's supporters are now questioning whether the hearing itself is truly meant to advance the legislation or if it's simply a delay tactic from Johnson and House leadership.
"I think he scheduled this hearing to placate us while kicking the can down the road," said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the nonprofit group Public Citizen. "The speaker could have just gone directly to markup on this bill if he were supportive of it."
A discharge petition is being floated as an alternative option, with Rep. Seth Magaziner hinting that sponsors will push forward if Johnson doesn't move quickly.
"We're glad to see some movement, but this is just the first step, and we need to see concrete action soon," Magaziner said.
Lawmakers have long argued that the current rules on congressional stock trades are ineffective, with lawmakers often violating disclosure requirements and facing little consequence for doing so. The hearing highlighted these flaws, but it did not focus on potential solutions.
Despite the lack of progress, some lawmakers remain optimistic about passing a comprehensive ban on congressional stock trading. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has threatened to force the bill onto the House floor with a discharge petition, while one Republican co-sponsor, Brian Fitzpatrick, expressed confidence that the measure will get a vote.
However, the bigger obstacle may lie in the Senate, where individual members have more sway and some Republicans have expressed opposition to the proposed ban.
Despite polls showing supermajority support for the measure, Johnson has expressed hesitation about moving forward with it. Instead, he's suggested holding a hearing to discuss the flaws in current rules on congressional stock trades, which could potentially be used as a way to stall progress on the bill.
Some of the bill's supporters are now questioning whether the hearing itself is truly meant to advance the legislation or if it's simply a delay tactic from Johnson and House leadership.
"I think he scheduled this hearing to placate us while kicking the can down the road," said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the nonprofit group Public Citizen. "The speaker could have just gone directly to markup on this bill if he were supportive of it."
A discharge petition is being floated as an alternative option, with Rep. Seth Magaziner hinting that sponsors will push forward if Johnson doesn't move quickly.
"We're glad to see some movement, but this is just the first step, and we need to see concrete action soon," Magaziner said.
Lawmakers have long argued that the current rules on congressional stock trades are ineffective, with lawmakers often violating disclosure requirements and facing little consequence for doing so. The hearing highlighted these flaws, but it did not focus on potential solutions.
Despite the lack of progress, some lawmakers remain optimistic about passing a comprehensive ban on congressional stock trading. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has threatened to force the bill onto the House floor with a discharge petition, while one Republican co-sponsor, Brian Fitzpatrick, expressed confidence that the measure will get a vote.
However, the bigger obstacle may lie in the Senate, where individual members have more sway and some Republicans have expressed opposition to the proposed ban.
i'm literally dying over here!!! 
it's like, come on Mike Johnson!!! 
if you're really behind this bill then just go for it already!! 
instead of having a hearing that sounds super suspiciously like a stall tactic 
we need action not words 
and btw what's up with the discharge petition 
is that an option to actually move forward or are they just trying to get their feet wet 
just cuz they can't get their own way 
it's all about the politics 
not about doing what's best for the ppl 
like, wut's wrong with a little bit of transparency 
in gov? 
we need to hold ppl accountable 
not use delay tactics 
let's keep pushing forward 
and hope that Senate gets on board 
. A discharge petition is a great idea though! That way, if House leadership doesn't get on board, we'll see some real action 
. And I'm glad to hear that some lawmakers are still pushing for change 
. We need more people like them who aren't afraid to take risks and make things happen 
.
. Some people wanna just stop the bill from growing in the first place, instead of finding ways to make it better 
. Meanwhile, others are saying that if we don't take care of this right now, it'll just be like watching the weeds take over 
. The thing is, sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty and make some tough decisions before anything can really grow 
. It's all about finding a balance between progress and patience 
I'm soooo over this! It's like they're playing politics with our money 
The whole thing is kinda frustrating, especially when you see those lawmakers saying one thing and doing another 
. Like, Rep. Magaziner said it's not enough to just talk about the problem, we need action 
! And don't even get me started on the discharge petition – it's like they're playing games instead of actually working together 
.
. I mean, we all know what's going on here... the speaker just wants to delay it until the next election cycle 
. And honestly, I don't blame him too much 
- he's gotta balance his own interests with pleasing the base, you know? 
.
. If they can get that off the ground, maybe we'll finally make some progress 
. Maybe it's time to hold our lawmakers accountable? 
.
. Some Republicans are already expressing opposition to the ban, so we'll have to see how that plays out. Maybe they can find some common ground and make it happen? 
. we'll have to wait and see if magaziner's discharge petition comes through or if the senate gets in the way of it 
. And honestly, I don't blame lawmakers for being skeptical – we've seen this kind of thing play out before.
. If that's the case, it's not going to fix anything. We need concrete action on this bill ASAP 
.
. And yeah, I trust Craig Holman's assessment, it does feel like a delay tactic... but at least someone's speaking truth to power 
.
. I thought we were making progress on this issue, but it sounds like Mike Johnson is playing politics with our democracy again 
.
. And I'm kinda disappointed in Mike Johnson for being all hesitant on this one. Can't he just make a decision already? 
, waiting for public pressure to build up before actually taking action. We'll see how this drama plays out in the Senate... it's gonna be an interesting few months 
we need to see some real action on this one 