Republicans on the House Administration Committee advanced a bill to ban congressional stock trading on Wednesday, with Democrats arguing the legislation does not go far enough in regulating lawmakers’ buying and selling of stocks.
The Stop Insider Trading Act, which passed 7-4, requires a public seven-day notice before a lawmaker, spouse, or dependent children can sell a stock. While the bill appeases some concerns about congressional stock trading, it would still allow lawmakers to retain their existing stock holdings, a provision that has been forcefully rebuked by Democrats.
The bill, backed by GOP leadership, was introduced by House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) on Monday to “prohibit Members of Congress, spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks.”
House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-NY) opposed the bill, saying it “falls far, far too short,” calling it a “misdirection play” that is “Speaker Johnson’s attempt to blunt momentum toward a full congressional stock trading ban.”
“This is a way to make sure that wealthy people come to Congress, continue to get wealth, and have the advantage that the American people don’t have,” Morelle said.
House Administration Democrats offered a handful of amendments to the Republican-led bill, all of which were struck down, including one that would have imposed a ban on stock trading for the president, vice president, federal judges, and senior congressional staff.
Morelle told reporters Tuesday he plans on setting a discharge petition live next Monday on a secondary stock trading bill that includes the president and vice president.
“It’s essentially the same language, but the covered individuals include the president, vice president,” Morelle said.
Reps. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote in a joint statement that the legislation does “nothing to remove conflict of interest that arises from owning or selling existing stocks.”
They continued, “Members can still act on legislation, investigations, and briefings that directly influence the value of their stocks for personal benefit.”
Late last year, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) introduced a separate discharge petition, aiming to force a vote on a stock trade ban.
“Across the country, from every political background, the American people agree on one thing: Members of Congress should not be enriching themselves with insider trading,” Luna wrote on X last year. “This is one of the most popular, most supported bipartisan issues in the entire country. Americans deserve a Congress that works for them, not for special interests or personal portfolios.”
“If Luna won’t move the discharge petition’s text, then we can start a clean one next week,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X.
“The consensus bill ref. stopping insider trading via discharge is still live, but Hakeem told Dems not to sign,” Luna replied. “So it is effectively at a standstill. So, the other alternative is this bill. What is NOT an option is doing nothing. So we are where we are at.”
Ocasio-Cortez told the Washington Examiner that she “thinks there is uneasiness” among Republicans who have been working on the issue with the bipartisan group.
“I want something to be very clear that this bill that has been introduced by Republican leadership is not a congressional stock trading ban,” she said. “It was written by and for the absolute wealthiest members of Congress to look like they are passing a ban.”
HILLARY CLINTON NO-SHOWS EPSTEIN DEPOSITION AFTER LETTER EXCORIATING COMER
A stock trade ban for members of Congress has been a longtime issue in both chambers with little movement over the years. This issue has undergone numerous pushes but has never been fully successful in either chamber.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, signed into law in 2012, prohibits members from acting on insider information and requires them to report their trades within 45 days, but the law acts more as a slap on the wrist. The penalty is a mere $200 fine, and members have not been punished for said violations.