The House approved legislation Wednesday that would bar members of Congress from purchasing individual stocks, advancing an ethics proposal that lawmakers in both parties have long championed but repeatedly failed to enact. The Stop Insider Trading Act would prohibit lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children from buying individual stocks while in office.

Key Provisions

The legislation would let them keep stocks they already own but require public notice at least seven days before selling them. Some investments would be exempt, including interest in a widely held investment fund and certain investments held in a trust. However, the bill does not extend to the president or vice president.

Supporters hailed the bill as the most significant congressional action yet to restrict stock trades by members of Congress. Rep. Bryan Steil, the Wisconsin Republican who sponsored the legislation, called it “transformational.” However, critics argued the legislation falls well short of a true stock trading ban because it would let lawmakers keep stocks they already own and continue selling them.

Outside ethics groups said the bill leaves intact the very conflicts it is meant to address by allowing lawmakers to keep existing stock holdings. The Campaign Legal Center urged Congress to reject the measure, saying it “fails to address the two inherent problems with congressional stock ownership: the appearance of insider trading and members’ ability to profit from their official position.”

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.