House passes stock trading bill while voter ID provision splits parties
The House passed a new bill Wednesday aimed at barring members of Congress from purchasing and trading individual stocks, a long-championed proposal.
While lawmakers have long sought a stock trading bill, the measure lost significant Democratic support when republicans added provisions.
Despite that, the measure passed 232-198, largely along party lines. Now, it heads to the Senate.
What the bill says
In addition to barring Congress from purchasing and trading individual stocks, the bill, if passed through the Senate, would also prevent members’ spouses and dependent children from buying or selling individual stocks.
They could keep the shares they already own, reinvest any dividends, and would have to give at least seven days’ notice before selling stocks or face fines — a sticking point for some lawmakers who have championed the effort.
“I had legislation that would have required divestiture. I preferred that approach,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “But you got to build a coalition in a body. And I think this is a giant step forward.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are criticizing the bill after Republicans added a voter ID provision and exempted the president and vice president from the bill.
Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., called the voter I.D. addition a “poison pill” designed to sink the legislation, saying, “This bill, quite simply, is a sham.”
The bill, dubbed the Stop Insider Trading Act, now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers in both parties have raised concerns about the stock trading restrictions, the voter I.D. provision, or both.
Long-standing support for the idea
No matter what happens in the Senate, though, the bill has long-standing support from both sides of the aisle.
Congressional stock trading has become a prominent campaign issue, with lawmakers and candidates on both sides of the aisle calling to ban the practice.
Candidates are looking to tap into voters’ distrust of Washington and political officials, saying lawmakers are doing a public service, so they should only serve the public.
“You don’t get to benefit from the power the people have loaned you,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said. “This reform is about fairness.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
