Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Iowa’s 2nd District announced on Apr. 14 that she is cosponsoring the Preventing Real-time Exploitation and Deceptive Insider Congressional Trading (PREDICT) Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at prohibiting senior federal government officials from engaging in insider prediction market trading.
The legislation seeks to address concerns about public trust and prevent federal officials from profiting through bets on political or policy outcomes using privileged information. Hinson said, “I can’t think of anything swampier than Members of Congress or other federal officials using insider knowledge to gamble on prediction markets — Americans should be able to trust that their representatives aren’t making money on current events. That’s why I’m working across the aisle to ensure Members of Congress and other senior federal officials cannot gamble on prediction markets. I will continue my fight to root out corruption in Washington.”
The PREDICT Act would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children, the president and vice president, as well as executive branch appointees from placing trades tied to political events or government actions. Violators would face a civil penalty equal to ten percent of the value involved in prohibited transactions, with any profits forfeited to the U.S. Treasury.
Ashley Hinson has served in the U.S. Congress representing Iowa’s 2nd District since 2021 after replacing Abby Finkenauer according to Ballotpedia. Before her tenure in Congress, she was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2017 until 2021 as reported by congress.gov.
Hinson was born in Des Moines in 1983 and currently resides in Marion according to The Des Moines Register. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2004 as noted by Roll Call.
Supporters say this legislation could set new standards for ethical conduct among top government leaders.
