A bipartisan group of lawmakers is planning to introduce a bill banning members of Congress and senior staff from buying and selling stocks. Notably, in the US, there is already the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, which is supposed to prevent high-level staffers from enriching themselves through trading on potentially market-moving information. Yet, American politicians have found ways to circumvent the law. 

For example, Congressman Tom Malinowski has been actively buying up shares of medical and tech companies that have been engaged in the fight against the coronavirus since the beginning of last year. It is impossible to prove that the politician used insider information, but the trading was suspiciously successful. The congressman said that all decisions on transactions have been made by his broker, and he himself is not aware of the details. This is just one of many examples of lucrative trading in the stock market conducted by high-ranking officials. 

"We need to end the era in which members of Congress buy and see individual stocks for personal gain. This practice is deeply corrupt," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, the lead Senate co-sponsor. The author of the bill, Senator Elizabeth Warren, points out that many senators, members of Congress, federal judges and other senior officials responsible for developing the rules for the financial system shall not own or trade stocks. 

The new bill intends to tighten standards and prohibit top congressional officials from making profit thanks to their positions even if the moves may not be considered insider trading. The Justice Department has already investigated Senators David Perdue, Kelly Leffler, and Richard Burr. They all made multi-million dollar transactions. It was impossible to prove the guilt of the politicians. However, in early 2020, Burr warned officials in a private conversation about the impending crisis, while politicians officially denied the seriousness of the new coronavirus. Perdue, who attended coronavirus briefings, bought Pfizer shares in the early days of the market downturn.