**House Republicans Introduce Bill to Prohibit Congressional Stock Trading**
On Monday, January 12th, House Republicans in the United States unveiled a draft bill aimed at prohibiting legislators from engaging in stock trading in the future while allowing them to retain any stocks they currently hold. The purpose of this bill is to prevent insider trading.
According to reports by the English version of Epoch Times, this draft bill was introduced by Bryan Steil, the chairman of the House Administrative Committee, and is titled the “Stop Insider Trading Act.”
Several legislators have recently put forth similar proposals, but Steil’s proposal has a crucial advantage as it has garnered the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson declared in a statement, “No member of Congress should profit from insider information, and this legislation is an important step in restoring public trust in Congress. Both Republicans and Democrats have the opportunity to voice their support.”
As per the draft bill proposed by Steil, current members of Congress will be allowed to retain their existing stocks but will be prohibited from purchasing new stocks in the future. The bill will also forbid legislators and their immediate family members (including spouses and dependent children) from “purchasing securities issued by publicly traded companies.”
On Wednesday, January 14th, Steil’s bill will undergo deliberation in the House Administrative Committee.
Congressman Steve Scalise expressed his support on social media platform X, stating that he believes the bill will swiftly move to a vote in the House after committee review.
Scalise wrote, “Members of Congress should not be allowed to profit from insider trading. Steil’s ‘Stop Insider Trading Act’… is expected to come to a vote in the House soon. This is the accountability that the American people demand and deserve.”
Steil’s proposed bill marks the first related legislation to receive broad support from House leadership. Previously, Congressmen Chip Roy and Seth Magaziner introduced similar bills that failed to gain wide support or leadership recognition.
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna also presented a “discharge petition” to ban stock trading. However, her proposal only garnered 77 signatures, far below the required 218, and could not proceed to a vote without the support of Speaker Johnson.
Roy and Luna both voiced their support for Steil’s bill. Luna stated on social media platform X, “This is a victory, but it must be noted that this wouldn’t have happened without individual members from both parties calling for it. I look forward to reviewing the complete text, but based on the points discussed in recent weeks, this is a step in the right direction, and I anticipate supporting it in the House.”
Roy described Steil’s bill in a statement as “a collaborative effort, taking a significant step towards restoring trust—banning stock purchases and establishing a pre-trading disclosure mechanism.”
However, Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pramila Jayapal have raised questions about Steil’s proposal.
In their statement, they mentioned, “While this bill prohibits members from buying new stocks, it does not eliminate conflicts of interest stemming from owning or selling existing stocks. Legislators can still take actions in legislating, investigating, and briefing that directly impact the value of their holdings, thus benefiting them personally.”
These two Congresswomen support Roy and Magaziner’s proposals.
According to the proposal, in addition to prohibiting new stock trading, members are required to divest or place their existing holdings into eligible blind trusts within 90 days and face penalties for non-compliance.
A blind trust involves entrusting assets to an independent trustee for management without the owner’s knowledge of how the assets are being invested, with the aim of avoiding conflicts of interest.