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Congress·In Committee·S. 1879

Senate Bill Proposes Ban on Individual Stock Trading for Members of Congress and Their Families

Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act

10 months ago·View on Congress.gov
Part of: Stop Insider Trading Act
⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate
House
President
Law

Key Points

  • This bill requires Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children to either sell their individual stocks and commodities or put them into a 'blind trust.' A blind trust is a setup where a professional manager makes all the investment decisions, and the owner is not allowed to know what is being bought or sold.
  • The rule applies to all current and future members of the House and Senate. Lawmakers would have 120 days after the law passes to comply. New members joining Congress later would also have 120 days from their start date to move their investments into a trust or sell them.
  • The goal of this policy is to prevent 'insider trading' and conflicts of interest. Because lawmakers often have access to private information about companies and the economy, these rules ensure they cannot use that information to make money for themselves or their families.
  • Lawmakers would still be allowed to own certain types of investments that are considered lower risk for conflicts. These include diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and U.S. Treasury bonds, as these do not focus on a single company or industry.
  • If a lawmaker fails to follow these rules, they will face significant fines. The penalty for not complying is a monthly fine equal to one full month of the lawmaker's government salary for as long as they remain out of compliance.
  • To ensure honesty, government ethics offices would be required to post information online for the public to see. This includes copies of trust agreements and lists of assets that were put into the trusts, though the specific daily trades made by the manager would remain hidden from the lawmaker.
Economy FinanceCivil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Political Response

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
May 22, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

May 22, 2025

Introduced in Senate

4 Articles

Washington ExaminerCenter Right

Pete Ricketts introduces legislation banning congressional stock trades

Washington ExaminerCenter Right

Pelosi isn't alone -- Congress is a trading floor

NewsCenter

Group of House Democrats introduce new stock trading bill

news_articleCenter

Congress is taking stock of proposed ethics rules

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act

Bill NumberS 1879
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(15)
D: 15

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.