WASHINGTON (TNND) — The House of Representatives passed a stock trading ban for Congress members with bipartisan support that included a voter ID provision.
The “Stop Insider Trading Act” passed the House on Wednesday in a 232-198 vote, with all Republicans and 13 Democrats voting in favor, the New York Post reported.
The Democrats who voted for the bill are Reps. Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz, and Darren Soto of Florida; Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas; Don Davis of North Carolina; Jared Golden of Maine; Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey; Marcy Kaptur of Ohio; Susie Lee of Nevada; Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington; and Derek Tran of California.
Because of the voter ID provision, it appears the Senate has little interest in passing the bill, which would need 60 votes.
The bill restricts lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing individual stocks of publicly traded companies while in office, with few exceptions, such as certain investment funds. Also, the bill requires lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children to file a notice 7-14 days before selling stock. Violators will have to pay a fee and be subject to ethics scrutiny.
According to critics, the bill isn’t a true ban on congressional stock trading because lawmakers will still have the ability to sell their assets.
The bill is still among the most significant attempts to monitor and prevent the risk of insider trading by lawmakers since the passage of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act in 2012.
The Congress members who could be most impacted by the bill were identified based on data from Quiver Quantitative. However, it is difficult to calculate exact numbers because lawmakers are only required to give ranges in their financial disclosures.
Rep. Ro Khanna’s, D-Calif., household traded the most frequently at 4,772 times last year, and the most expensive assets, totaling $65.9 million, per Quiver Quantitative.
“For years, I have been working to pass legislation that tackles corrupt practices that members of both parties have abused. I do not own or trade stocks and have led the fight to ban stock trading,” Khanna posted on X in May, including a Substack link with a more detailed explanation.
“My household’s only investments are in a trust that my in-laws set up before marriage, managed independently by a third party trustee in full compliance with the Office of Government ethics (OGE) and House Rules. Members of Congress should not be trading stocks in the industries they are paid to regulate.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., husband, Paul, has made a significant amount of money from the stock market.
Pelosi’s household is listed as having made $52,525,000 worth of trades over the past year on 21 occasions.
“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” her spokesperson, Ian Krager, told the Post.
Since 2022, the former speaker has publicly backed efforts to restrict congressional stock trading, after initially defending the practice.
Retiring Rep. Michael McCaul’s, R-Texas, family moved $48 million worth of assets across 980 different trades.
The congressman’s team has previously addressed his family’s stock trading, noting that his “wife has assets she solely owns, and a third-party manager” makes purchases “without her direction.”
McCaul’s office didn’t immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Rep. Tony Wied’s, R-Wis., household moved $25.9 million across 19 different trades. Wied has backed the Stop Insider Trading Act, but said it should’ve gone further to prevent potential corruption.
“I plan to support this symbolic gesture when it comes to a vote, but let’s be real — insider trading is already entirely illegal,” Wied told the Post.
“If my colleagues on both sides of the aisle were serious about solving the actual problem, we would have gone much further with this legislation and addressed the real issue plaguing the swamp: career politicians using their connections and insider knowledge to enrich themselves as lobbyists and federal contractors after leaving office.”
Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., and his family moved $12 million on more than 1,128 occasions.
“My wife and I have always employed outside financial advisors who have a fiduciary responsibility to maintain a diverse portfolio,” Cisneros told the Post. “We do not manage the day-to-day trading of our investment portfolio, nor have we ever suggested a trade while serving in Congress or at the Department of Defense.”
He added that he has “always complied with all rules and regulations regarding stock trading and financial disclosures” and backs stronger ethics measures.
