A senior House Democrat, in a long-shot move to force a member stock-trading ban to the floor, said Tuesday he will launch a discharge petition after Republican leaders moved to sidestep bipartisan efforts to address the issue.
A GOP-written bill is expected to move through the House Administration Committee on Wednesday, and Rep. Joe Morelle of New York — the top Democrat on the panel — said he is “troubled” by that legislation, which would allow members to keep stocks they currently own.
“I’m also troubled by the notion that it’s being sold as a stock-trading ban — it is not that at all,” said Morelle, who is pushing alternative legislation with other Democrats that would force members to divest individual stocks, as well as the president. But with the GOP bill on offer, it’s not clear whether the discharge petition can pick up enough Republican support to force Morelle’s bill to the House floor.
Meanwhile, the Republican-backed bill has so far picked up support from one Hill Democrat, Rep. Josh Riley of New York.
“I don’t look at this as a Democratic issue or Republican issue,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “And frankly I don’t give a shit who’s scoring political points in this place.”
