The House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act on July 22, narrowly dividing Democrats over a bill that restricts lawmakers and their families from buying individual stocks. The measure passed 232-198, with only 13 Democrats supporting it and 198 voting against.
The legislation marks the first congressional stock trading ban to receive a House floor vote. It would bar members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks, though lawmakers could retain existing holdings and would need to disclose stock sales through a public process.
Democrats’ opposition centered on two key issues: the bill does not go far enough, and Republicans added an unrelated voter ID provision to it. The voter ID measure, part of the SAVE America Act, requires proof of citizenship and strict photo ID requirements for federal elections.
Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, called the voter ID provision a “poison pill.” He said during debate that the bill does not include a sell-back requirement for existing stocks and does not extend to the executive branch, namely President Donald Trump and his family, according to Fox News reporting.
“Rather, this bill is a crude combination of two completely unrelated bills, the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act and the Voter ID Act, the latter of which is already a crude reformulation of at least three other failed Republican voter suppression proposals,” Morelle said during Monday’s debate, per Fox News.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, accused his own party of using the voter ID requirement as a tactical move. “We are voting on a stock trading ban for members of Congress… BUT Republicans added voter-ID in the legislation. Not to get Dems to vote for voter-ID, but to get them to vote against the stock trading ban, so they can use it in the Nov. election,” Massie wrote on X, suggesting a cleaner bill would pass with bipartisan support.
The measure passed with support from two Democratic co-sponsors out of 93 total lawmakers who signed on to the bill. Rep. Zach Nunn, a key Republican supporter, argued the two issues “go hand in hand,” telling Fox News Digital that both enjoy overwhelming public support and the bill could reach the president’s desk before the August recess.
Senate action on the bill remains uncertain. The chamber has not scheduled a vote on its own version, which seeks to prevent not only members of Congress and their families but also the president, vice president, and their families from owning and trading individual stocks. That Senate version, called the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions Act, has bipartisan support but goes further than the House bill.
Sources
- Fox News — House vote details, Democratic opposition, Morelle and Nunn quotes, bill scope
- Politico — Passage vote count, Morelle “poison pill” quote, Senate bill status
- Congress.gov — Official vote tally (232-198)
