The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider a bill Wednesday afternoon that would ban members from buying individual stocks while they are in office, potentially taking the first meaningful action on an issue that has vexed lawmakers for years.
For decades, there is broad public support for banning members from trading while they are in office, as their well-timed trades and booming portfolios have raised concerns of insider trading among ethics watchdogs and drawn intense public scrutiny.
But the Republican-led House bill, called the Stop Insider Trading Act, falls far short of what the most vocal anti-trading advocates in Congress are seeking. And the Democratic Party is opposed to this proposal.
“It’s very disappointing. This is a anti-stock bill that still allows stock trading. It’s a weak bill,” Rep. Seth Magaziner (DR.I.), a member of a bipartisan coalition pushing for a more complete ban, told CNBC.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), along with Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), said in a press conference with a bipartisan group of House members that she is prepared to force a vote on a bill that would ban members of Congress and their families from trading stocks in the Capitol. September 3, 2025, Hill in Washington DC, USA.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Republicans also added voter identification provisions to the bill, making it less likely to gain support from Democrats and complicating its path to passage. President Donald Trump is asking Congress to approve the SAVE America Act, which would impose voter ID and citizenship proof requirements on voters across the country, but the bill lacks support to pass Congress.
If stock trading bills with voter ID requirements are introduced in the Senate, where most bills require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, their fate is uncertain.
A 2012 federal law already makes it illegal for members of Congress to trade inside information, but the law carries weak penalties and is rarely, if ever, enforced.
A bill introduced by Rep. Brian Still (R-Wis.), up for a vote Wednesday, would prohibit lawmakers from buying individual stocks while in office, but would not require them to sell existing investments in individual company stocks. Members will also be allowed to sell part of their portfolio, provided they 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, imposing fines of $2,000 or 10% of the transaction amount, whichever is greater. The current fine for a disclosure violation is $200 for a first offense.
“I think it’s very important to tell the American people that we’re done allowing members of Congress to day trade stocks,” Steil said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” ahead of the vote. “Let’s eliminate even the unwarranted impression that certain transactions were based on inside information that individuals may have obtained while working in Washington.”
