HPU students head to Congress with a cause
Apr. 9—HIGH POINT — Four students from High Point University will travel to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as they try to restore the faith of Americans in Congress.
The students will speak to elected officials about passing a law to require U.S. representatives and senators to put their investment holdings in a blind trust while they hold elected office. With all the cynicism that voters express about the motives of people who are supposed to be public servants, enacting a law about blind trusts to deter insider trading would offer some level of confidence in the actions of Congress, said Caroline Ford of Braintree, Massachusetts, one of the four going to Washington.
"Our mission is to inspire other college students and everyone worldwide to realize that their voices matter and can make a difference," she said.
The others who are going are Emily Brassil of Cary; Will Scholtes of Townson, Maryland; and Nicole Chiapperino of Blauvelt, New York.
Ford said that they are scheduled to visit at least eight congressional offices.
Ford told The High Point Enterprise that the four students are founding members of a group called Combatting Congressional Corruption. They want to grow their membership on campus and hope that students at other colleges and universities will form chapters.
"We would love to expand our network," Ford said.
The students say that the idea of blind trusts for members of Congress receives overwhelming support in polls among Americans of different political persuasions.
If representatives and senators don't have blind trusts, it leaves open the possibility for malfeasance, Scholtes said.
"Members of Congress are trading stocks based on information they receive during hearings and private meetings with business leaders," Scholtes said.
Requiring a blind trust in which a member of Congress has no role in investments would prevent unethical behavior, the students say.
Controversies about members of Congress and insider trading have bubbled up over recent decades, most notably at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic four years ago. Some members of Congress from both major political parties were accused of using information about COVID-19 to dump stocks with companies that might take big financial hits because of the crisis.
Just as instances of possible insider trading have been bipartisan, so could be the solution, Ford said.
"We can work both parties in getting this bill passed," she said.
Previous efforts have been made over the decades to reform congressional insider trading. Ford said that she and her fellow students realize the scope of their task but aren't flinching at the prospect.
"We want to extend an opportunity for Congress to make change for the betterment of America," she said. "It's definitely going to be a challenge but one we are up to."
pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
