Will the member of Congress with Raytheon stock please stand up?

 

Friend —

ICYMI: Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) bought as much as $15,000 of Lockheed Martin stock on February 22 — two days before Russia invaded Ukraine. She touted the purchase on Twitter a day later, exclaiming, “War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable and convenient.”

I don’t know if this is corruption, but I know this is outright unethical and morally bankrupt. Others agree. A bipartisan poll by the Campaign Legal Center found that 67% of all voters favor banning members of Congress from trading stocks. And Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT-at large) are leading bipartisan legislation to ban stock ownership by members of Congress.

Momentum is building in Congress to end this outrageous practice right now. Each petition signature in support of this legislation is not only a step closer to ending it, but also a rebuke of the practice.

Add your name here if you believe in banning members of Congress from profiting from their public service and owning stocks.

The thing is, Rep. Greene isn’t alone — DOZENS of members of Congress and their spouses have recently traded in weapons contractor stocks. In fact, at least 19 hold stock in Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, which are currently manufacturing Javelin and Stinger missiles, and profiting off the very military assistance deals Congress is drawing up to help Ukraine defend against Russian invasion.

And this has happened before with pharmaceutical stocks as well. At least 75 members of Congress traded Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna stocks — all while the pandemic raged.

Elected public servants and their spouses are potentially using privileged information they receive on the job to profit in the stock market off of war and sickness.

It’s a bad look. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell advises senators to invest in mutual funds instead of individual stocks.

That’s why a bipartisan group of legislators has offered a bill to ban members of Congress from stock trading and ownership. Support is only growing. In fact, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has committed to holding a vote on the legislation this year — but it won’t pass unless we speak out now and tell our members of Congress to support it!

That’s where you come in. Sign now to tell Congress you want them to ban members from trading stocks.

Thank you for working for peace,

Stephen and the Win Without War team