House advances bill barring sitting Congress members from buying stocks
The U.S. House on Wednesday introduced a bill that would prevent members of Congress from buying individual stocks while in office, taking the first meaningful step toward an issue lawmakers have been grappling with for years.
The bill passed by a vote of 232 to 198, with more than a dozen Democrats joining Republicans.
There broad public support Ban members of Congress from taking transactions while in office, as the lawmakers’ well-timed transactions and growing portfolios have raised insider trading concerns among ethics watchdogs and come under intense public scrutiny. goes back decades.
But the GOP-led legislation advanced by the House Stop Insider Trading ActIt falls well short of what the congressional trade ban’s most vocal advocates are demanding. And many Democrats have lined up against the proposal.
“I’m very disappointed in this. This is a stock trading ban that still allows stock trading. It’s a weak bill,” Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., who is part of a bipartisan coalition advocating for a more comprehensive ban, told CNBC.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), along with Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), say at a press conference with a bipartisan group of House members that members of Congress and their families are ready to force a vote on a bill banning stock trading on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Sept. 3, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Republicans also added a statement voter identification provision eroding some Democratic support for the measure. Democratic leaders urged their caucus to vote against the bill.
President Donald Trump is pressing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would impose voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements on voters across the United States. The measure lacks the support to clear Congress.
The stock trading bill that includes a voter ID mandate includes advancing to the Senate, where most bills now require 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. His fate in that room is uncertain.
A. 2012 federal law It is currently illegal for members of Congress to engage in insider trading, but penalties for this law are weak and rarely enforced.
Voted on Wednesday and R-Wis. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil, would ban members of Congress from buying individual stocks while in office, but would not require them to divest their current investments in individual company stocks. This will also allow members to sell part of their portfolio, provided they publicly announce their intention to sell at least seven days in advance.
The bill would also increase penalties for members who fail to properly disclose stock sales, providing for a fine of $2,000 or 10% of the transaction value, whichever is greater. The current penalty for disclosure violations is $200 for first-time offenders.
“I think it’s really important that we tell the American people that we’re done letting members of Congress trade stocks,” Steil said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday before the vote. he said. “Let us dispel even the appearance of impropriety that any trading is based on any inside information an individual may acquire while serving in Washington.”
