Powell to Skip Testimony to Congress, Says Steil

Republican Representative Bryan Steil of Wisconsin said that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to skip testifying to congress about economic developments, after Powell became the subject of a DOJ investigation this weekend. Steil called the decision a 'missed opportunity' for the American people. The congressman, who serves as the Chairman of the House Administration Committee, also said that his legislation aimed at regulating lawmakers ability to trade stocks passed out of committee earlier today and will head to the floor. The bill has faced criticism from lawmakers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who says that the limitation do not go far enough.

A congressional committee is liasing with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to schedule his next appearance before lawmakers, though the process has been disrupted by subpoenas recently served to the central bank, according to a spokesperson for a key Republican lawmaker.

Powell on Sunday said the US central bank had been served grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department threatening a criminal indictment, an action that is related to his June congressional testimony on ongoing renovations of the Fed’s headquarters.

Under a 1978 amendment to law that created the central bank, Fed chairs are required to testify in congressional hearings twice a year to speak about monetary policy and economic developments. They traditionally appear before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee.

A House panel advanced a GOP leadership-endorsed bill aimed at curbing lawmaker stock trading Wednesday, voting along party lines to approve the Republican consensus legislation for a floor vote.

The House Administration Committee voted 7-4 in support of the package (H.R. 7008), which would stop members of Congress from buying new stocks but wouldn’t require them to sell off any stocks they already own. Republicans approved the legislation over objections from Democrats, who said the bill doesn’t go far enough to prevent insider trading.

“I wouldn’t even call this a half-measure — it’s a misdirection,” said committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), who argued the legislation is weak and riddled with loopholes.

Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) pushed back on criticism of his bill Wednesday.

“This is the most substantive and transformational ethics reform we have seen in the House of Representatives in years,” he said.

GOP leaders blessed Steil’s stock bill after rank-and-file Republicans threatened to force a vote on legislation that would block lawmakers from owning or trading stocks. Republican stock ban advocates and leadership allies lined up behind the compromise bill this week.

Steil on Wednesday accused Democrats of making a “goldilocks argument” in contending that the bill doesn’t go far enough. Committee Democrats proposed amendments to require lawmakers to divest their stocks, include restrictions on the White House, and more.

None of the amendments were adopted. Steil said they would “have the effect of derailing the progress that I believe we can make.”

House Democrats will try to force a vote on their own maneuver — a bipartisan stock ban bill (H.R. 5106) with restrictions on the president and vice president added. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) said Democrats’ discharge petition, which would trigger a vote if 218 lawmakers sign on, will go live for signatures Monday.

“Mike Johnson is trying to co-opt the language of a stock trading ban, and substitute something that is completely not a stock trading ban,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said before Wednesday’s markup. Democrats noted that Steil’s bill would allow lawmakers to buy and sell commodities and private company stock.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) promised to schedule a floor vote on the committee-advanced stock bill soon, though he said Tuesday night that leaders must first ensure it has the votes needed to survive.

“When it’s ready to pass, that’s the key,” Scalise told Bloomberg Government. “It’s not just bringing it to the floor. It’s passing it on the floor. I want it to pass.”

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