But instead of passing Ms. Spanberger’s measure, Ms. Pelosi dispatched a close ally, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat and chair of the administration committee, to draft a different bill. The speaker’s only requirement, she said, was that she cover the judiciary as well as Congress.
The bill, released Tuesday night, would eliminate most financial asset swaps for lawmakers, their spouses, dependent children, senior aides and federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. This would allow them to hold investments through financial holding structures called blind trusts – in which the owner does not know how the assets are managed – and certain other types of investments, such as broad based mutual funds. , state or municipal bonds and some family businesses.
Lawmakers would have six months to dispose of their individual actions. The bill would also increase the fees members must pay if they fail to comply and empower the Justice Department to bring civil actions against violators.
Some ethics experts hailed the measure as an essential step toward restoring trust in Congress.
“While this bill could be improved in terms of the scope of public officials covered and potential loopholes, it responds to voters’ calls for reform,” Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center, said Thursday.
But others called the bill ineffective, citing a provision that would allow Congress and other government bodies to vote to allow their members to hold any other type of investment fund which they deemed acceptable. Skeptics have also argued for stricter disclosure requirements.
The flashback also came from inside the House. Fifteen Republicans sent a letter to Ms Lofgren on September 16 complaining that they had not been genuinely included in the negotiations on the bill and arguing that it was intended to score “cheap political points rather than d ‘to adopt a judicious policy’.
At the same time, some Democrats have also said they have been shut out of Ms Lofgren’s legislative process entirely. Many lawmakers barely had a chance to consider the bill before Mr. Hoyer announced it was shelved.