Spectrum News: McDonald Rivet discusses bill to crack down on insider trading in the federal government

SAGINAW, Mich. — During a press conference Friday, U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., discussed a bill she recently introduced to crack down on insider trading within the federal government.

H.R. 9560, also known as the No Profiting from Public Service Act, would bar federal officials from trading stocks as well as participating in prediction markets.

This would apply to members of Congress, federal judges — including Supreme Court justices — the president, vice president and political appointees. 

“When you are in Congress, when you are working in high levels of government, when you are a federal judge, you get access to information that other people don’t get,” McDonald Rivet said. “You get access, you get private briefings, you get research, you get heads up on things that are going to happen. It’s so easy to use that information to personally profit.” 

The bill would also apply to their spouses and dependent children.

It would additionally apply these rules to candidates for federal office, as prediction market betting has become increasingly popular on things like election outcomes.

“Prediction markets make it possible to bet on anything,” said McDonald Rivet. “You can bet on and make money on when a strike is going to happen in Iran, you can bet on and make money on who’s going to win an election.”

“Thousands of people are doing that, I think that’s great,” she continued. “Let them get on the prediction markets, but not if you hold public office, not if you’re running for office.”

While the bill as currently written would bar federal officials from stock trading and prediction markets, it does not address cryptocurrency. McDonald Rivet noted that past attempts to tighten rules on federal officials buying and selling cryptocurrency have failed.

“We’re passing a lot of laws related to cryptocurrency, and many, many, many people in Congress and in the executive are involved with this,” she said. “We had an amendment in committee that had a conflict of interest policy for the executive, and every single Republican voted no.”

McDonald Rivet was joined in introducing the bill by Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, and Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va..

“We see small sections of America — including in Congress — who are getting richer and richer, while the cost of things are getting out of pace for working people, for most of us,” McDonald Rivet said. “This is the first place we have to start. We have to clean this up.”

It has since been referred to several committees for consideration, including the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration, the Judiciary and Ways and Means.