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New Mexicos senators are among a bipartisan collection of members of Congress trying to stop their colleagues from owning or trading stocks or other types of investments.

New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujn, both Democrats, co-sponsored a bill that would tighten rules on congressional members investments. The rules would also apply to their immediate family members.

The idea behind the legislation is that lawmakers are aware of investigations, hearings and legislation that can affect stock prices. They could also support or oppose policy changes that would impact specific companies or industries.

Heinrichs office pointed out in a news release that both conservative and liberal people support such reforms.

This is very simple, Heinrich said at a news conference this week. This is saying to every single American that your member of Congress, your senator, is making decisions based on what is best for the country, what is best for their state and their constituents, not what is best for their bottom line.

The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center reported in 2020 that dozens of House and Senate members made numerous financial transactions prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which originally tanked the stock market. A New York Times investigation last year found that between 2019 to 2021, nearly 100 congressional members from both parties or their family members bought or sold financial assets in industries that intersected with their legislative committee assignments.

If you think about the last few years, its very obvious that Congress on a repeated basis has to deal with emergencies that we never saw coming, Heinrich said, referring to COVID, the war in Ukraine and the collapse of certain banks, all of which impacted the stock market.

As for New Mexicos delegation, the Campaign Legal Center reported that in 2021, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Lujn didnt own stocks or widely-held investment funds, such as mutual funds. They are a rarity Lujn is the only senator without any stocks or widely-held investments and Stansbury is one of 38 representatives without such assets.

Heinrich and former-Rep. Yvette Herrell, a Republican, didnt own stocks but did own widely-held investment funds. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernndez, a Democrat, is an owner of both types of investments, according to the report.

The states newest member of Congress, Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez, doesnt own any stocks, according to his spokeswoman.

The proposed bill, called the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks, or ETHICS, Act, would prohibit members of congress from owning or trading stocks, securities, commodities or futures and would require them to divest current assets and diversify their portfolios into assets like mutual funds, among other reforms.

A 2012 act called the STOCK Act allows members of congress to buy or trade stocks and other financial assets but they cant trade on inside information. They also must disclose any trades by themselves or family members over a certain amount.

Members of Congress are entrusted to fight for the interests of their constituents not advance their own personal financial position, Lujn said in a statement. This legislation will help build trust between Congress and the millions of Americans who we represent.

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New Mexico's Democratic senators are part of a group trying to stop ... - Albuquerque Journal