A bipartisan group of senators is pushing for a new ban on stock trading for members of Congress on an expedited basis.
The announcement comes at a time when lucrative stock trades by lawmakers have come under increased scrutiny, with more than $1 billion worth of transactions taking place in 2023 alone.
While there are some laws restricting members from trading with their inside knowledge in Congress, critics say that doesn’t always happen.
A recent report by DailyMail.com found that many members were trading millions of dollars worth of stocks, including risky options, and others had traded a total volume of more than $100 million.
These staggering figures are well above the average member salary of $174,000.
Four senators on Wednesday introduced a measure that would ban members, their spouses and dependents from trading stocks and other securities.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks at a news conference announcing a Senate bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.
Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced legislation called the End Trade-In and Stock Ownership in Congress (ETHICS) Act.
If passed, it would ban trading by members 90 days after becoming law.
Trade restrictions for spouses and dependents would take effect at the end of March 2027.
Notably, many of the expensive disclosures by top congressional traders, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are made under the names of their spouses, such as Paul Pelosi, who is also a venture capitalist.
Penalties for violating the law would be 10 percent of the value of the asset bought or sold.
“Democrats, independents and Republicans overwhelmingly agree that members of Congress should not be gambling in the stock market,” Ossoff said at an event announcing the legislation.
“This is about time,” he said. “It is necessary.”
Ossoff mentioned that one of his campaign promises was to ban trading in membership rights, saying, “That’s why I’m pleased to be involved in this long and productive bipartisan effort to chart a path forward.”
The Republican behind the bill, Josh Hawley, said: “There is no reason for Congress to benefit from information that only they get.”
“No loopholes. No blind trusts. Let’s make this happen,” the senator posted on X after the event.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters will take up the bill in a hearing on July 24.
“We’re going to take what I think is a historic step forward on legislation that will prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks,” Peters said in the Senate television gallery.
‘Senators Merkley, Hawley, Ossoff and I have reached a bipartisan agreement on the legislation.’
Merkley said of the bill: “We should be here to serve the public, not our pocketbooks.”
The lone Republican behind the bill, Josh Hawley, said: “There is no reason for Congress to benefit from information that only they get.”
“Democrats, independents and Republicans overwhelmingly agree that members of Congress should not be gambling in the stock market,” Sen. Ossoff said at the event.
Also on Wednesday, 20 lawmakers called on House leaders to begin working on a ban on stock trading in the lower chamber of Congress.
Almost simultaneously, an even larger group of House lawmakers announced that they had sent a letter to House leadership demanding action on the stock trading ban for its members.
“We are writing to respectfully urge you to hold a vote on legislation to prohibit members of Congress from owning or trading stocks,” said a letter signed by 20 members addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
“As we approach the final months of the 118th Congress, we believe that taking action on this bipartisan, commonsense legislation will ensure that members of Congress are serving the country and their constituents, not their bank accounts,” he continued.
In total, 16 House Democrats and four Republicans signed the letter.
Of the 20 lawmakers who signed the bill, disclosures indicate that only two of them ever traded stocks while in office: Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Sharice Davids of Kansas.
Nancy Pelosi’s November 2023 financial filings reveal a significant purchase of Nvidia. That deal has seen a value increase of more than 178 percent since then.
‘It’s been nearly two years since House leaders committed to holding a vote on a bill to reform stock trading practices for members of Congress.’
“In a hyper-partisan political environment where Americans’ approval ratings of Congress are at an all-time low, this is a common-sense, bipartisan change that makes clear that we come to Washington to serve our constituents, not our own financial interests,” the letter said.
Congressional stock trading has drawn public attention since the pandemic, when some lawmakers raised eyebrows by selling shortly after closed-door COVID-19 briefings before the stock market crashed.
Pelosi, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Jamaica), Rep. Dan Mueser (D-Pa.), Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), for example, have traded more than $1 million in securities this year, according to federal data compiled by political transaction tracker Quiver Quantitative.
According to data compiled by Quiver, Pelosi’s net worth has doubled over the past decade, from $123 million in 2014 to nearly $250 million in 2024.
The data firm estimates that Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., is worth $47.2 million.
Gottheimer has reported trading more than $277 million worth of securities since 2017.
In 2012, the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act was passed to force politicians to disclose their transactions.
The law requires officers to publicly disclose transactions worth more than $1,000 within 30 days of receiving notice of the transaction and 45 days from the date of the transaction. However, it does not require members to disclose the exact price of the transaction, but rather a range of prices.
Still, the revelations show that Congress negotiated more than $1 trillion in 2023, with certain clever politicians making profits of more than 200 percent on some trades.
