The Hill: Congress should prohibit members from serving on company boards
More than a year after the story first broke, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) was indicted on insider trading violations this week. Commenting on the case, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) appropriately called insider trading “a clear violation of the public trust.”
This indictment should come as no surprise. The nonpartisan, independent Office of Congressional Ethics found in October of last yearthat Rep. Collins violated insider trading laws and House rules with his ‘official acts’ on behalf of the pharmaceutical company, Innate Immunotherapeutics.
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At a time when confidence in democracy and our institutions is perilously low, it is simply jaw-dropping that House rules allow members of Congress to engage in this kind of clear conflict of interest.
Congress must take quick, decisive action to ensure such glaring ethical loopholes are closed.