Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a freshman representative elected in 2022, is already taking action to beat back the self-serving nature of Congress, introducing a bill that, if passed, would end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
Specifically, Rep. Nunn introduced legislation that would fully repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress every year, which is supposed to take effect automatically every year. The congressman’s bill differs from previous legislation to suspend automatic pay raises in that it doesn’t just pause the pay level, which has stayed the same since 2009 but would fully repeal the law.
Breitbart reports that Congressional pay levels have stayed “the same since 2009, as numerous pieces of legislation denied the scheduled annual adjustments over the years, with the last ones — House-reported (H.R. 8237) and Senate-introduced (S. 4720) — freezing the annual adjustments until 2023.” Rep. Nunn’s bill would end the charge and stop the automatic pay raises entirely instead of requiring continual bills that pause the automatic pay raises.
That’s not all Rep. Nunn, a combat veteran, has done to fight Congressional self-dealing. He’s also supported the bill that would end Congressional insider trading. Describing what the bill does and why he supports it, a press release from his office says:
Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03), along with Representative Greg Stanton (AZ-4), today announced a new bipartisan bill to ban congressional stock trading for Members of Congress. The Prohibit Insider Trading Act would prevent Members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks. Members found in violation would be subject to a civil fine of up to $50,000. Additionally, any profit related to the trades would be returned to the American people via the U.S. Treasury.
“I’ve prioritized service over self my entire life – first in the Air Force, then as a state legislator, and now as a member of Congress. The top priority of civil servants should be serving the American people, not making personal profit,” said Rep. Nunn. “I believe Iowans should have open, transparent, and honest representation without conflicts of interest getting in the way. This isn’t a partisan issue—this is a way to stop corruption in politics that has unfortunately become all too common.”
While serving in the state legislature, Rep. Nunn vowed not to trade stocks that would have a conflict of interest at the state level. Now, in Congress, Rep. Nunn is continuing to refrain from trading individual stocks and believes all Members of Congress should do the same.
Recent analysis has found approximately 20 percent of Members of Congress are buying and selling stocks where there may be a conflict of interest. During the 117th Congress, 78 Members of Congress violated the current law, known as the STOCK Act, that requires public disclosure of trades within 45 days. Recent polls suggest roughly 75 percent of Americans support banning Members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
“Americans need to know their elected leaders in Washington are making decisions based on what’s best for our country, not their own stock portfolios,” Rep. Greg Stanton said. “Our common-sense, bipartisan legislation will put an end to corrupt insider trading and bring some transparency and integrity back to Congress.”
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