Fed Chair Powell Skips Congress Testimony Amid DOJ Investigation; Lawmaker Stock Trading Bill Advances

Powell's Congressional Testimony Postponed

• 🏛️ Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to skip his testimony to Congress regarding economic developments.
• ⚖️ This decision follows a recent DOJ investigation into Powell, related to his June congressional testimony on Fed headquarters renovations.
• 🗓️ Powell's testimony is required by law twice a year, but the current investigation has disrupted scheduling, creating a "missed opportunity" for public oversight.

Lawmaker Stock Trading Reform Bill

• 📈 A GOP leadership-endorsed bill aimed at curbing lawmaker stock trading has advanced out of committee.
• 🚫 The legislation, H.R. 7008, would prevent members of Congress from buying new individual stocks after being elected.
• ⚠️ Existing holdings can be kept, but selling them requires seven days' advance notice to prevent profiting from insider information.
• 🗣️ Critics, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, argue the bill is a "scam" and a "misdirection" that doesn't go far enough, while proponents like Rep. Bryan Steil call it "substantive and transformational ethics reform."
• 🤝 The bill aims to strike a balance, preventing insider trading while allowing individuals with private sector careers to serve in Congress.

Debate Over Stock Trading Ban Legislation

• 📜 Democrats are pushing for a separate, more comprehensive bipartisan stock ban bill (H.R. 5106) via a discharge petition.
• 🏛️ Amendments proposed by Democrats to require divestment of existing stocks and include restrictions on the White House were not adopted in committee.
• 🗣️ Rep. Steil defended his bill, stating that amendments could derail progress and that the current legislation has "real teeth to enforce it."
• 📅 House leadership has committed to moving Steil's bill to the House floor soon, pending sufficient votes for passage.

Digital Assets and Market Structure

• 🌐 The Stablecoin legislation has passed and been signed into law.
• 🏛️ The Senate is currently navigating the House-passed Clarity Act, focusing on market structure legislation for digital assets.
• 💡 There is a push to finalize text related to Stablecoins within the market structure bill to encourage digital asset companies to invest and innovate in the U.S.