WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Stop Insider Trading Act Wednesday, banning members of Congress and their families from buying new stocks and requiring public notice before selling existing holdings. The bill, which was passed largely along party lines, now faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the legislation addresses a long-standing concern about lawmakers enriching themselves while in office.
“Too often, Americans struggling to make ends meet have watched as lawmakers have entered office to leave as multimillionaires,” Johnson said.
Most House Democrats opposed the measure, arguing it does not go far enough. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the bill falls short because it does not prohibit members from trading stock outright and excludes the president, vice president, and cabinet.
“It doesn’t actually prohibit members from trading stock. And of course, it didn’t include the president, the vice president and the cabinet. Which is extraordinary, given that during Donald Trump’s first year as president, he’s traded more stocks than every other member of Congress combined,” Jeffries said.
The bill allows members to retain their current stock holdings and sell them off — a provision that has drawn criticism from some Republicans in the Senate as well.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he is willing to work with the House-passed version but wants stronger language.
“If that’s what the House is able to pass, I’m certainly happy to take that and to work with it. As I say, I’d like to see something stronger. I’d like to see tougher penalties. I’d like to see an across the board ban on any kind of stock trading in stock ownership by members of Congress,” Hawley said.
Democrats are pointing to an additional provision as the primary obstacle to Senate passage. The bill includes sections of the SAVE America Act — which would require voters in federal elections to show photo ID — attached to the stock trading legislation. Democrats have labeled the addition a “poison pill.”
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) said the inclusion drove her vote against the bill.
“It wasn’t a true stock trading ban, but instead, it was a Trojan horse carrying the SAVE Act provisions in it, which are intended to destroy our democracy. So I had to vote against it,” she said.
The SAVE America Act has repeatedly failed to gain the bipartisan support needed to advance in the Senate.
A Senate version of the Stop Insider Trading Act is currently being drafted. Hawley is sponsoring a separate, stricter measure — the HONEST Act. It has largely stalled on the Senate floor.
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