Young Urges Senate to Pass Stop Insider Trading Act

**Click here or above to watch Senator Young's floor speech**

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Stop Insider Trading Act, legislation that would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks.

To watch Young's full speech, click here.

Senator Young's full remarks as prepared for delivery:

I am here today to reiterate my support for the Stop Insider Trading Act and to urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

In order to make the best policy decisions possible, Members of Congress are provided access to information most Americans are not.

We receive briefings, write legislation, and serve on committees with jurisdiction over major sectors of our economy.

But serving as a Member of Congress comes with a responsibility to put public interest ahead of personal gain.

We have an obligation to put the interests of the people we represent ahead of our own.

No Member of Congress should profit from insider information.

There is a reason that can be difficult: members who write the rules are also subject to them.

Allowing members to actively trade individual stocks creates an obvious conflict. Even when no law is broken, the appearance of a conflict is damaging.

And without a doubt, some serving in Congress today benefit financially from the current system.

But that should not prevent Congress from supporting a change that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe is needed and necessary.

Recent polling shows that 86% of Americans favor banning Members of Congress from trading stocks.

Republicans and Democrats disagree on so many issues, but Americans across the political spectrum agree that their elected representatives should not be able to use the privileges of public office for personal financial gain.

This sentiment is echoed across Indiana. I regularly hear from Hoosiers who are troubled about those serving in Congress profiting from their positions.

Here's the bottom line: the American people should not have to wonder whether votes in Congress are influenced by what is best for the country or by what is best for the investment portfolios of those serving in Congress.

The Stop Insider Trading Act will help ensure that Congress plays by the same rules as everyone else.

It would prevent Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from purchasing individual stocks and strengthen disclosure and enforcement requirements.

This legislation is a step in the right direction, and it's what the people we represent want us to do.

Trust in Congress remains at an all-time low. Passing this bill will help restore some level of trust in Congress and those who serve.

Let's do the right thing, support this bill, and put an end to swamp trading.