He also noted that several House proponents of stock-ban legislation say they're unaware of what's being worked on by leadership. "I'll evaluate what the House does when they act," said Merkley. Merkley also told Insider that he wasn't aware of the details of the legislation being hammered out by House Democratic leadership, raising questions about whether the House and Senate versions will have significant differences. But part of that is people realizing it's not going to get on the floor because of the bills that are stacked up before the election anyway." "You can touch the brass ring, but we can't quite grab it yet. "Slowly over time, we have reached a strong consensus on almost everything," he said. Merkley has previously told Insider that the legislation being hammered out by Senate Democrats will also include a ban on spouses from trading stocks, closing a potential loophole in the existing legislation. "Our candidates are much more aware of it, our entire membership continues to see how it creates a real conflict of interest if you have a personal portfolio and you're serving the public." "I think we have the best momentum that we've ever had in the 10 years I've been fighting to end this practice of stock trading," he said. It's a tragic lost opportunity and a shameful failure."īut Merkley sounded an optimistic note, saying that in over a decade working on the issue, he's never felt so close to fixing what he says is a significant ethical problem. "He took control of the working group and slow-walked this thing for 223 days. "I'm not surprised to hear this is Senator Merkley's position," said Shaub. Walter Shaub, a senior ethics fellow at the Project on Government Oversight - which has been working with Merkley and other Senate Democrats on the consensus legislation - ripped into Merkley in a statement to Insider. The decision to punt the much-anticipated legislation into this year's lame-duck session - when lawmakers may feel less pressure from the public so soon after an election - could imperil the potential for enacting the widely-popular reform this Congress. "We believe we have a product that we can bring to the floor this month," she told reporters at her weekly press conference on Wednesday. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat. "Every day that we delay on passing meaningful restrictions on stock trading among members of Congress is a day that further erodes the credibility of this body." "There is no reason that we should not have a stock trading bill on the floor and vote on it," added Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia. "Except what I've consistently said, which is that it's time to vote." "I don't have a comment," said Democratic Sen. Two other members of the Senate working group told Insider they couldn't confirm Merkley's assessment of the stock bill. "But there are a whole lot of other bills and judicial nominations lined up for the balance of the few days we have left here." "I feel like we've made very large strides towards a consensus bill," Merkley said during an interview in the US Capitol. A slew of legislation was introduced to address the problem. The New York Democrat's move came after Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation revealed widespread violations of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats are currently preoccupied with a leadership contest over who will become their next leader and revive the party's fortunes after it suffered its worst-ever election result.In February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer formed a working group for the purpose of developing consensus legislation that would stand a chance of passing the evenly-divided Senate, where floor time is valuable. The alliance is considered a potentially uneasy mixture because it brings together two traditionally left-leaning parties with one, the Free Democrats, that has tended to ally with the centre-right.Ī preliminary agreement last month indicated Germany would bring forward its deadline for ending the use of coal-fuelled power from 2038 to 2030, while expanding the rollout of renewable energy generation.Īnd at the Free Democrats' insistence, the prospective partners have pledged not to raise taxes or loosen curbs on running up debt, making financing a central issue. Pic: APįew details have emerged from the private talks - including how the parties will divide up the ministerial portfolios. Image: Party leaders Olaf Scholz, Annalena Baerbock, and Robert Habeck present the coalition agreement.
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