Kristen McDonald Rivet

GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, has joined other members of Congress in introducing the No Profiting from Public Service Act.

Introduced on Tuesday, June 30, the bill would ban politicians, Supreme Court justices, and other federal officials from trading stocks and using prediction markets to wager on government and politics.

The bill comes after McDonald Rivet announced a new office policy last month, banning all employees of her congressional office, including herself, from betting using prediction markets, which allow users to bet money about current events, including politics and business.

“People are sick and tired of seeing insiders get rich while they get left behind. It’s time for some honest-to-God accountability,” McDonald Rivet said in a statement released by her office on Tuesday. “It’s simple: no elected official or public servant should be trading on the information they get from their jobs ...”

The congresswoman’s office said the No Profiting from Public Service Act would bar public officials from owning or trading individual stocks, commodities, futures, derivatives and other related securities.

Members of Congress, the president and vice president, Supreme Court justices, Senate-confirmed political appointees and the spouses and dependent children of those officials would be covered by the ban.

The bill is also designed to ban the same public officials and others from participating in prediction market contracts related to government and politics.

McDonald Rivet’s office said the legislation has been endorsed by End Citizens United and Defend the Vote.