During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) spoke about potential insider trading by members of Congress.
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00:00For what purpose does the gentleman, Mr. Garcia, seek recognition?
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at the desk.
00:08Mr. Garcia, number one.
00:09Thank you, sir. The clerk will distribute the amendment to all members.
00:13The clerk will designate the amendment.
00:16Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Reconciliation Committee Print,
00:20providing for reconciliation pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 14, offered by Mr. Garcia of California.
00:25Without objection, the amendment is considered as red. I reserve a point of order.
00:31The gentleman, Mr. Garcia, is recognized for five minutes to speak on his amendment.
00:37Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:39I know that it's very clear from all of us that today's debate and discussion has made the House Republican agenda very clear.
00:47It's giveaways to billionaires, huge cuts to health care and Social Security, attacks on due process,
00:54and we should not lose sight, of course, of the other big crisis happening right now that Donald Trump, of course, is causing.
01:00Now, in the coming weeks, every American is going to be impacted by Donald Trump's insane and destructive trade and tariff agenda.
01:08Now, we already know that the Trump tariffs are just a sales tax that hits the poor and working people the hardest.
01:14I also represent one of the biggest ports in the U.S., the second largest container port in the country.
01:20And I'll tell you right now that goods simply aren't coming.
01:24Last week, trucking volumes coming out of L.A. collapsed to levels we only see during Christmas and New Year's.
01:30Trucking, which is the number one job for non-college educated men, are seeing huge rollbacks.
01:37We could also see huge numbers of bankruptcies and layoffs in the coming months as the supply chain freezes up.
01:43Now, small businesses, we know, won't be able to buy the goods they sell.
01:47Prices will skyrocket for products and others may simply vanish from the shelves.
01:52The uncertainty is just as dangerous, whether you're in shipping, in trucking, a small business, in the import and export business.
02:00All of these businesses are being impacted by the Trump tariffs that are nothing but pure chaos.
02:06Businesses and small businesses are going to be hit first, but our consumers will be next.
02:11These tariffs won't bring back jobs because no firm can invest in new factories.
02:16There is too much uncertainty, and businesses cannot plan long-term tariff rates,
02:21and they can't just import machines or construction materials.
02:24The job market is just too uncertain.
02:27These Trump tariffs won't bring us a better deal because China won't even pick up Donald Trump's calls.
02:33And he's beginning to look more desperate every single day.
02:36No one benefits from this insane and dangerous trade agenda.
02:41But there is maybe one group that appears to be benefiting, and that is connected insiders.
02:47We know that prior to these Trump tariff announcements and in between,
02:52there have been people, including members of Congress, maybe some on this committee,
02:56that have purchased between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock.
03:01By the way, between April 8th and 9th, the day before President Trump caused his sweeping global tariff crisis.
03:09Now, we know that even the day before Trump's announcement, a certain member and maybe others,
03:14dumped between $50,000 and $100,000 in Treasury bills, according to required public disclosures made to the House.
03:21Now, of course, there's no direct evidence today that anyone committed, has been committed of doing any wrongdoing.
03:27And certainly we have no evidence that anyone had any advance notice of what Trump was doing and his decision to undo some of the tariffs.
03:34But we do know that the day before the announcement, Trump posted, and I quote,
03:39this is a great time to buy, end quote.
03:41This should raise concerns to all of us.
03:44The public needs to trust us.
03:46Who knew about Trump's chaotic tariff announcements?
03:50Who invested in the stock market?
03:52And what insider information did they know?
03:55Now, we don't know specifics of the announcement, of course, and who was in the room and made these decisions,
04:01and who purchased all the stock.
04:04We also don't know who's getting direct insider information on future announcements and future deals.
04:09So this amendment brings clarity, and it's quite simple.
04:12We will suspend the implementation of this toxic and dangerous legislation if we determine that the president or the head of any executive agency or any member or employee or contractor of DOGE is found to have committed insider trading related to the imposition of the tariffs.
04:31This is a common-sense, good-government measure to ensure trust and honesty and to bring a certainty to our tariff policy.
04:38It removes an incentive to fuel chaos in order to profit and will provide much-needed certainty.
04:43I urge all members to support this amendment, and I yield back.
04:47The gentleman yields back.
04:49I recognize myself for five minutes to speak on the amendment.
04:52I will be in opposition to the amendment.
04:55I am also in opposition along with all my colleagues, one would hope, on both sides of the aisle.
05:00To insider trading that results in personal benefit for any Republican or any Democrat.
05:07Today's legislation is not the venue for that.
05:12I'm going to oppose the amendment.
05:13But again, I offer to myself and my colleagues in my office at the avail of my Democrat colleagues to work towards legislation and investigation into any illicit or illegal insider trading that may be found to exist.
05:29Including within this body.
05:32But so, of course, to include the executive branch.
05:35So I'm in opposition to the amendment.
05:37I yield the balance of my time.
05:39Does anyone else seek recognition?
05:41Ms. Luna of Florida is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.
05:45Yes, thank you, Mr. Higgins.
05:47First of all, I obviously am supporting what the oversight Republican committee is doing here for this entire process.
05:56But I did want to speak to Mr. Garcia.
05:58Mr. Garcia, please let it be known.
06:00If you would like to do a discharge petition banning insider trading for members of Congress, I will happily support that.
06:06I think that it is disgusting that people do that.
06:08I share Mr. Higgins' sentiment.
06:09And I think that a majority of the American people want that.
06:12So I'd be happy to support that.
06:14We can get the ball rolling.
06:15Discharge petition away on that, please.
06:17Well, if I can respond to that.
06:19I appreciate that, Representative Luna.
06:20I agree with you.
06:21Does the gentlelady yield her time?
06:25The gentleman's right now.
06:27I appreciate that, Representative Luna.
06:28I also agree with you.
06:29There should be absolutely no insider trading in Congress.
06:32In fact, I believe there should be no stock trading of individual stocks by members of Congress, period.
06:37And I support legislation to do so.
06:39And so I'm looking forward to our conversation to move this issue forward.
06:42So thank you.
06:43The gentleman yields.
06:44Do any other members wish to speak on this amendment?
06:48Hearing none, the question is on the amendment.