After a heated debate at a Congressional hearing, the United States Senate Homeland Security Committee passed a bill on Wednesday (July 30th) aimed at prohibiting members of Congress from engaging in stock trading. The bill, originally named the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act” (PELOSI Act), which was later renamed the “HONEST Act” after revisions, will now be sent for a full Senate vote.
The key provisions of the bill will only take effect at the start of the next term, meaning that current President Trump, Vice President Pence, and serving senators and representatives will not be immediately bound by the legislation.
Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Rand Paul (Republican from Kentucky), stated that due to the timing of the bill’s implementation, the measure effectively protects President Trump. However, co-sponsor of the bill, Josh Hawley (Republican from Missouri), disagreed with this assessment, asserting that all elected officials subject to the bill should be treated equally in this regard.
Hawley remarked, “I hope this is a bill that can pass the committee, pass the Senate, and be signed into law by the President.” He also acknowledged that “this is not a perfect bill.”
Departing from the position of his Republican colleagues, Hawley supported the bill, which ultimately passed in the Senate committee by a vote of 8-7.
The bill has become a recent focus of attention in both Congress and society, raising questions about whether Trump truly supports the legislation.
During the committee vote, Hawley opposed an amendment proposed by Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida, aimed at investigating the stock trading activities of Representative Nancy Pelosi and her husband from the past 25 years.
On Wednesday afternoon, when asked about the bill by the media, Trump stated, “In concept, I like the bill.” He then added, “Nancy Pelosi should be investigated.”
Trump later posted on the Truth Social platform, condemning Hawley’s vote on the Scott amendment, asserting that Hawley “fell right into the Democrats’ dirty trap.”
Trump continued, “I don’t think true Republicans would want to see their highly successful former President become a target of attack because of a ‘flash in the pan’ from a second-tier Senator named Josh Hawley.”
Hawley introduced the original version of the bill in April of this year along with committee member Bernie Moreno from Ohio. Subsequently, on July 30th, he and Chief Democratic Senator Gary Peters from Michigan presented the new version of the bill together.
The timing of the distribution of the new version of the bill document has caused disagreement between members of both parties. Chairman Paul stated that he only received the new version of the text on the day of its arrival at the committee, while Peters countered that the document had been sent days earlier.
Original bill co-sponsor Moreno voted against the amendments proposed by Hawley and Peters. He stated, “I haven’t even finished reading the stack of documents in front of me. This is the most absurd process I’ve ever seen.”
The bill prohibits members of Congress and their spouses from buying or selling stocks and most other similar financial products, with exceptions for U.S. Treasury securities, diversified mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Before voting on the bill and related amendments, Hawley pointed out that current insider trading laws and financial disclosure requirements are not effectively controlling lawmakers from using information in their possession to trade. He remarked, “Today we have a chance to do things that the public has been hoping we would do for decades.”
Senator Ron Johnson expressed opposition to this point of view.
Johnson argued that the bill is completely unnecessary and could bring about many unforeseen negative consequences, discouraging talented business professionals from entering public service. He criticized it as political manipulation.
Scott, one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. Congress, questioned the premise of the bill. He commented, “For some reason, now making money is seen as negative.”
Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan defended the bill, stating, “People don’t believe we’re here for the right reasons.”
She also admitted that she does not view the bill as perfect. Slotkin said, “I’d rather get something done than wait for that perfect version.”
Senator Ruben Gallego from Arizona also offered positive feedback on the new version of the bill. He mentioned that the stock trading ban bill presents an opportunity to rebuild voter trust, emphasizing that the trust deficit issue exists not just within the Republican Party but also affects the Democratic Party.