Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil joined Mornings with Maria to discuss the Stop Insider Trading Act, which is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives next week, as well as Republican efforts to attach the SAVE America Act to Reconciliation 3.0, according to a July 17 statement.
Steil addressed concerns about election integrity during his interview. He said, “I would love to see us get the entire SAVE America Act done and across the line. The House of Representatives has done its job. It is our frustration that the Senate continues to fail to get this done, but inside a reconciliation structure there are ways to incentivize states to do this or require states to do this as well. We need to make real and substantive progress in election integrity, in particular making sure states are vetting whether individuals are citizens or noncitizens and indicating that on drivers’ licenses. This is a huge opportunity to make sure states that are giving drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants, like Illinois or New York or California, that we are vetting that out and preventing them from voting.”
He continued by referencing voter identification laws: “Further, there are already 23 states that have a really good voter ID law on the books, 36 states in total have some form of it and other states like California have it as a ballot initiative coming up. We have an opportunity to also use some of these funds to incentivize or force states to get voter ID legislation on the books between now and the election.”
On congressional ethics reform regarding stock trading by lawmakers, Steil said, “This is our opportunity to make a real and substantive step forward as it relates to ethics in the United States House of Representatives and Congress writ large. It’s my view that if you come to Washington, D.C., you shouldn’t be trading stocks day in and day out. If you want to do that there’s a place for it; it’s called Wall Street.” He added, “Prevent Members of Congress and ban Members of Congress from trading stock while serving on behalf of the American people… My legislation accomplishes that goal… It will be on the floor next week and every person in the United States of America will know where their representative stands.”
The Committee on House Administration serves as a standing committee focused on administrative matters within Congress; its responsibilities include oversight over federal elections, Capitol security measures—including responses after September 11 attacks—and operational aspects such as participation in joint committees related both Library resources and Printing functions, according to its official website. The committee played an important role passing federal voting reforms through measures like allocating over $3 billion via Help America Vote Act for improved voting systems.
The outcome of upcoming votes will determine how proposed changes affecting both congressional conduct standards around stock trading activity—as well as state-level requirements concerning voter identification—move forward.