Kevin Kiley: “this week, I signed a discharge petition to stop insider trading, to ban stock trading by Members of Congress. I have…”

“this week, I signed a discharge petition to stop insider trading, to ban stock trading by Members of Congress. I have been a cosponsor of this measure offered by my colleague from Florida, Anna Paulina Luna. We have gotten a number of bipartisan cosponsors for it, yet the bill has not moved. It has not been brought to the floor by House leadership. I have signed this discharge petition, which is a legislative mechanism by which the Members of the House can bring a bill directly to the floor without the blessing of leadership. I have not been particularly inclined to sign these petitions in my first couple of years here in the House, but I have come to the view that they have become more necessary given the House's somewhat diminished role in recent months in terms of actually driving policy forward. I have also signed a couple of other petitions related to the healthcare reforms that we are seeking to advance. I was particularly concerned when I heard the Speaker himself suggest that he might try to stop discharge petitions from happening altogether, which would be a terrible idea. It would mean that the House is no longer truly a majoritarian institution. Affirming the value of discharge petitions and bringing to the floor a bill to ban trading by Members of Congress are both important steps toward restoring trust in this institution. Let's face it, Congress is not held in particularly high esteem by the American public right now.”