House to vote on congressional stock trading curb
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- The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the Stop Insider Trading Act, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), which would bar members of Congress from buying individual stocks while in office but would not require divestment of existing individual stock holdings.
- Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), part of a bipartisan coalition pushing for a fuller ban, called the legislation "a stock trading ban that still allows stock trading," with Democrats lining up in opposition.
- House Republicans attached a voter-ID provision (the SAVE America Act, backed by President Trump) to the measure, further reducing the already slim chances of Democratic support and complicating its path to passage.
- The bill would increase penalties for disclosure violations to $2,000 or 10% of the transaction value (whichever is greater), up from the current $200 fine for first-time offenders.
- Members seeking to sell portions of their portfolio would need to publicly disclose their intent to sell at least seven days in advance under the legislation.
- A 2012 federal law already makes it illegal for members of Congress to trade on inside information, but its weak penalties are rarely, if ever, enforced, according to the source.
- The bill's fate in the Senate is unclear, as most legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and the measure currently lacks the support to clear Congress.
Why it matters: The vote spotlights a divide between bipartisan advocates of a genuine congressional trading ban and GOP leaders who have paired a narrow stock-disclosure measure with Trump's SAVE America Act voter-ID rider — a combination that critics say guts the ban's substance while making the bill unpassable in a 60-vote Senate.
