According to new poll conducted by Data for Progress, a progressive firm showed that 67 percent of voters support such a ban on members of Congress from trading stocks, according to Business Insider.
The number increased to 74 percent when respondents were given arguments for and against the idea. Arguments that supported the ban included lawmakers' access to non-public information. Arguments against included that a ban could impact retirement accounts.
Only 19 percent said they would oppose such a measure.
43 percent of voters said they strongly supported the banning members of Congress and their senior staff from buying and selling individual stocks. An additional 24 percent were somewhat supportive.
That polling remained consistent with a previous survey Data for Progress conducted in March and mirrors recent polling from the conservative group Convention of States Action, as well as the Campaign Legal Center.
Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff (GA) and Mark Kelly (AZ) have sponsored a bill that would require lawmakers to place individual stocks into a blind trust.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) introduced a competing proposal on the same day. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig (MN) proposed legislation that would ban holding stock altogether.
Last Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) asked the Committee on House Administration to consider harsher penalties for members and senior staff who violate the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act).
However, Pelosi dismissed a broader ban on trading of stock for members of Congress and said, "We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that."
Pelosi is one of the wealthiest members of Congress. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, has invested millions of dollars in stocks, according to disclosures the Speaker is legally required to file.
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