Iowa City Democrat Christina Bohannan called for robust congressional ethics reform on Wednesday. Bohannan’s proposal comes just a couple of days after she criticized Iowa Republican U. S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for flying in a first class seat on a flight from Des Moines to Washington, D. C. Later the same day, in a news release, Miller-Meeks called for a vote on a bill that would ban congressional stock trading, a bill that has been floated for several sessions, and one that Miller-Meeks cosponsored. Bohannan similarly called for a ban on congressional stock trading on Wednesday. Bohannan called for a more robust list of ethics reforms including a ban on using taxpayer dollars for first class and business class airplane tickets. “Simply put, the hardworking people of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District do not have a representative in Congress and it’s time they had one,” Bohannan said. “Worse, as Miller-Meeks voted to cut Medicaid and increase health care costs on Iowans, she is flying first class for her taxpayer-funded job.” The pair are vying for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country with an array of election forecasters, including Sabato’s Crystal Ball, listing the seat as a “toss-up.” The 2026 midterm election would be Bohannan’s third match up against Miller-Meeks, if Bohannan wins the Democratic primary. Bohannan previously lost to Miller-Meeks by less than 800 votes in 2024, making it one of the closest races in the country last cycle. Bohannan also outperformed former vice president and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the congressional district by thousands of votes. Miller-Meeks calls for vote on “Restore Trust in Congress Act” In a news release Wednesday, Miller-Meeks called for the chair of the House Committee on Administration to advance the “Restore Trust in Congress Act” which Miller-Meeks co-sponsors. The bill would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks while they are in office. Miller-Meeks sent a letter to the chair and vice-chair of the committee to advance the bill without delay. “Iowans expect, and deserve, a Congress that works for them, not for personal profit,” Miller-Meeks said in a news release on Wednesday. “Members of Congress should not be trading individual stocks while writing laws and receiving nonpublic briefings. It’s time to end this practice, restore trust, and make sure the decisions we make are driven solely by the people we serve” Miller-Meeks said in the letter to leadership it should include clear alternatives allowing members to invest without having direct power over which stocks are bought and sold leaving them free of influence. Miller-Meeks also emphasized the reforms should include real penalties to ensure they are enforceable. According to the release, neither Miller-Meeks nor her husband own individual stocks. Bohannan calls for laundry list of ethics reforms Bohannan called for a comprehensive set of reforms that include: a more expansive ban on stock trading that extends to the executive branch and the supreme court institute term limits ban payments to family members from campaign or congressional accounts; create an independent congressional ethics agency ban pay to all members of congress, the executive branch, and their staff during shutdowns, with all such income used to pay down the national debt permanently ban all members of Congress, their families, and their staff from becoming lobbyists, including retroactively and institute a code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices. “Mariannette Miller-Meeks is bought and paid for by the Washington special interests,” Bohannan said. “We’ve got to hold the powerful accountable. The only way to change Washington is to change the people we send there.”.
https://dailyiowan.com/2025/11/19/bohannan-miller-meeks-call-for-congressional-stock-trading-ban/
