One of the greatest challenges our country faces in the 21st century is a loss of confidence in our most important institutions. The news that some members of Congress may have dumped stocks in response to confidential congressional briefings, briefings which laid bare the magnitude of the coronavirus crisis we are now all facing, comes at the worst possible time.
Public service is a noble calling, not merely a profession. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Representing your constituents means giving of yourself for the public good, just like we expect of our military members, teachers, or firefighters — not to mention our doctors and nurses on the front lines of this current crisis.
What’s even more frustrating is that it’s entirely possible for members of Congress to avoid such conflicts altogether. I know, because I did it.
Even before serving my 16 years in Congress, I had seen Tennessee politicians who went into government with very low net worths, only to end up multimillionaires while in office. Benefiting financially while serving just seemed plain wrong.
That’s why I served 16 years in Congress without ever personally buying or selling individual stocks, equities, or commodities. My position was that if my family couldn’t live off the basic salary of a congressman, we should dial back our lifestyle to match our income and leave public service no richer than we entered public service.
And believe me, that wasn’t easy — because of college tuition and the cost of living in D.C. and Tennessee, we left Congress in more debt than when I was first elected. However, I avoided all conflicts of interest and slept comfortably at night knowing that I was first and foremost serving the public good.
I recognize, though, that such voluntary approaches are insufficient. The D.C. swamp is easy to get sucked into, and human nature is what it is.
Ethics rules in Congress exist for an important reason: Corruption, or even the appearance of corruption, seriously undermines the public’s trust in our democratic republic, without which our system cannot function. But these rules mean nothing if they’re not strong — and strongly enforced.
Members of Congress receive many closed briefings wherein they receive information not available to the public. Without strong guidelines, there is not much preventing members from taking knowledge gained in the course of their official duties and using it to adjust their portfolios. This opens the doors from everything from the unethical to the downright illegal. Such insider trading cases are sadly not unheard of.
That’s why the rules need to change. If members enter office with such assets, as many do, they must either divest their holdings immediately, or place them in a qualified blind trust — one with a strong firewall between the beneficiary and the person overseeing the trust. And, while in office, members should be prohibited from “day trading” stocks or equities.
These are just common sense and good politics: They protect members of Congress from unwanted scandals, allowing them to focus on their work as “public servants” and serve without conflict or personal gain. And it protects the integrity of our institutions.
No one needs to wait for rule changes to act. All members can, and should, show leadership by taking these voluntary measures right away.
Changes such as these would dramatically increase the confidence, both in times of crisis and peace, the general public deserves to have in their federal officials.
Zach Wamp served in the House of Representatives for 16 years, representing Tennessee’s 3rd district. He is co-chair of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus.
