In his first remarks on the arrest Wednesday of his friend Rep. Chris Collins, Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, said Thursday the allegations are very serious, but that it’s up to voters to determine whether he can continue to serve their needs.
Reed’s 11-county 23rd Congressional District shares a boundary with Collins’ 27th Congressional District, which stretches from the Erie County Southtowns to the suburbs of Rochester.
The FBI arrested Collins Wednesday after his indictment on charges of insider trading and lying to the FBI.
Asked during a telephone press conference whether Collins should abandon his re-election bid to focus on the federal charges he and his son face, Reed said that is a decision for Collins and his family.
Reed indicated he believed Collins would stay in the race.
“These are very serious allegations,” Reed acknowledged. He agreed it is a legitimate concern whether Collins can continue to serve the needs of his constituents.
Collins said he plans to continue to run for re-election in the heavily Republican district.
“We take (the charges) very seriously,” Reed said. “We as members are no different than another person and need to be held accountable.”
If Collins stays on the ballot, the voters will control things going forward, Reed said. Collins, R-Clarence, is facing Democrat Nate McMurray, the Grand Island supervisor, in the Nov. 6 election.
Reed said he did not buy stock recommended by Collins.
After the press conference, Reed and Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York announced that they will introduce a resolution to amend the current rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit members of the House from serving on the boards of publicly-held companies.
Collins served on the board of directors of Innate, an Australian company, and was its largest investor.
Federal prosecutors in New York said Collins was informed as a company director about the failure of a drug at clinical trial and informed his son Cameron to sell his stock before it tanked on news of the clinical trial failure.
The resolution Reed and Rice introduced Thursday is similar to Senate rules which state no senator “shall serve as an officer or member of the board of any publicly-held or publicly regulated corporation, financial institution, or business entity.”
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)
