Competing bills could ban lawmakers from trading stocks while in office

Competing bills could ban lawmakers from trading stocks while in office

Senators from both sides of the aisle have introduced bills to ban members of Congress and their immediate family members from trading stocks while in office, amid . with Sen. Mark Kelly, D-AZ, which would require members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children to place their portfolios into blind trusts while in office. , though his version would not ban dependent children from trading. "Members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we make federal policy and have extraordinary access to confidential information," Ossoff said in a , which says that he and Kelly have both placed their own portfolios into blind trusts. Ossoff's bill is similar to one by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-VA, and Chip Roy, R-TX, last year. Lawmakers who violate Ossoff and Kelly's Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act would pay a fine equal to their Congressional salary for the year. Those who violate Hawley's bill, on the other hand, would be required to pay any profits to the U.S. Treasury. Lawmakers could also face additional fines by the Senate or House ethics committees. Talks around the stock trading bans have picked up steam over the past few months, as lawmakers have come under