House GOP advances limited restrictions on congressional stock trading

House Republicans on Wednesday advanced a watered-down bill that would impose some restrictions on lawmakers who trade stock, a move Democrats said only blunted momentum for a more stringent ban they were seeking to bring to the floor. The measure, called the Stop Insider Trading Act and backed by Speaker Mike Johnson, would bar lawmakers from buying individual stocks but allow members to keep existing holdings and continue to sell them if they provide seven to 14 days of notice.

It would also permit reinvestment of dividends in new stocks and let spouses and other family members trade freely on a lawmaker's behalf. The bill cleared committee, a step toward a full House vote. Democrats criticized the legislation as inadequate and full of loopholes. Representative Norma Torres called it “a political scam” and “a gift to insider traders, disguised as ethics reform,” and Representative Joseph D.

Key Topics

Politics, Mike Johnson, Congressional Stock Trading, Discharge Petition, House Administration Committee