House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., on Monday will introduce a bill banning lawmakers from buying individual stocks.
A post from the House Administration Committee on X confirmed the rollout of the "Stop Insider Trading Act," saying that "it's time we banned lawmakers from trading stocks," as Republicans move to bar members of Congress from using privileged information to pad their portfolios.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Steil drafted the legislation with the backing of House GOP leadership and support spanning party factions, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., as original co-sponsors.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the effort is aimed at restoring public trust, arguing no lawmaker should be able to profit from insider information.
The bill would prohibit House and Senate members from making new purchases of individual stocks while still allowing lawmakers to buy and sell diversified investment vehicles such as broad-based mutual funds and ETFs, the Journal reported.
Unlike some earlier proposals that would force immediate divestment, Steil's plan would not require lawmakers to sell stocks they already own, but would require members to file a public notice at least seven days and no more than 14 days before selling an individual stock, with an option to withdraw the notice if they change their minds.
Steil's proposal also targets family trading, a common loophole critics say undermines ethics rules.
The Journal reported spouses and dependent children would be barred from purchasing shares of publicly traded companies, with limited exceptions such as certain trust holdings or stock acquired as part of a spouse's or child's employment compensation.
If members fail to comply, the House Ethics Committee would be required to impose penalties, including a fee of $2,000 or 10% of the covered investment value (whichever is greater) and potential profit clawbacks, the Journal said.
Republicans say the measure improves on the 2012 STOCK Act, which increased disclosure requirements and clarified that members of Congress aren't exempt from insider-trading laws but did not ban trading outright.
The Washington Times reported last month that House Republicans planned to vote early in 2026 on a congressional stock-trading ban after reaching a compromise under which the ban would apply only to lawmakers, not the president or vice president.
"I think we're going to deliver a really strong product in 2026," Roy told the outlet.
Roy declined to discuss specifics but said the legislation will include "a lot of elements" of his Restore Trust in Congress Act, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., and 118 others.
The push comes as bipartisan frustrations over congressional trading have escalated.
Lawmakers in both parties have explored stricter bans in recent years, driven by voter anger over conflicts of interest and weak enforcement.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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