If you want to make a living trading stocks, you belong on Wall Street, not Capitol Hill.
This week, I led a hearingto review the STOCK Act. The STOCK Act was passed in 2012 to strengthen existing prohibitions on insider trading for public officials. This includes Members of Congress and Executive Branch officials.
The STOCK Act prohibits Members of Congress from using nonpublic information for their own financial benefit. It also requires Members of Congress to disclose the purchase of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, and other securities over $1,000within 45 days of purchase. This disclosure helps provide transparency as to whether members are trading based on insider information.
Despite this law, there have been allegations that officials are profiting off insider information. Notably, in February 2020, as we entered the COVID pandemic, the Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee contacted his stockbroker and sold all but one stock. This was a $1.6 million transaction. He was not prosecuted under the STOCK Act. In fact, no Member of Congress has ever been prosecuted under the STOCK Act.
I believe we need legislative reforms to strengthen the STOCK Act and prevent Members from profiting from insider information.
I want to hear from you:
Do you agree with me, that we need to do more to prevent members of Congress from profiting off insider information?
I joined CNBC to discuss our hearing and my work to prevent Members of Congress from profiting off insider information. You can watch our interview above or at the link here. To watch our hearing click here.
Lowering Energy Costs for American Families
Since 2022, energy prices have increased faster than the rate of inflation. This year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that energy prices will be roughly 11% higher than in 2022. This increase has a real impact on family budgets.
Under the previous administration, burdensome regulations were put in place to restrict domestic energy production. This included a halt of new oil and gas leases and ban on new frackingprojects on public lands. These regulations contributed to the estimated $2,400 increase in annual energy costs for working families.
This week, the House passed legislation to unleash American energy and repeal some of these provisions.
This included:
The Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Actwhich lifts previous restrictions on the import and export of natural gas. By removing bureaucratic red tape and streamlining the federal permitting process, we can unleash American energy and reduce costs for American families.
H.J. Res 131 and S.J. Res. 80 to remove bans on oil and gas leases in the United States. This will unlock more than 13 million acres of energy resources in the U.S. to make energy more affordable.
H.J. Res 130 to increase new coal leasing and make roughly 48.12 billion tons of coal. This is enough to meet U.S. demand for the next 116 years.
We must unleash American energy. I will continue working to make energy more affordable by strengthening domestic production and restoring America's energy leadership.
Making Life More Affordable
Costs remain high, making it hard for families to afford the things they need. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about how we can make life more affordable for working families and seniors.
From 2020-2024, prices increased by 20%. Grocery prices increased even more, with costs rising by 23.6% during that same period.
All told, Wisconsin families paid over $12,000 more at the end of 2024 for the same goods and services as they did in January 2021. These increases were due, in part, to excessive government spending and burdensome energy regulations that drove up costs on working families.
The rate of inflation peaked at 9.1% in June of 2022. Recent actions in Congress have made progress slowing the rate of inflation. Today, the rate of inflation is at 3%.That's better than 9%, but still too high. We have also seen positive wage growth over the last year, with wages up 3.8%.
Congress is taking action to make life more affordable for American families. In July, the House passed H.R. 1 to prevent a 22% tax increase for Wisconsin families—equivalent to $1,500 per family.
This bill also:
Provides a new $6,000 tax deduction for low- and middle-income seniors
Eliminates taxes on Social Security for 88% of seniors.
Supports American workers, ending taxes on tips and overtime.
Ends taxes on tips up to $25,000 for individuals making $150,000 or less annually
Ends taxes on overtime up to $12,500 for individuals making $150,000 or less annually
Removed energy subsidies that hindered American energy independence and increased costs on families
