Legislation would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from trading individual stocks while in office, aiming to curb insider trading and restore public trust
Washington, D.C: Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) on Wednesday introduced new legislation that would prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from buying, selling, or holding individual stocks while in office, marking a House companion to Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) “PELOSI Act” pending in the Senate.
Under the proposed bill, lawmakers would be required to divest from individual stocks within 180 days of the bill's passage. Newly elected lawmakers would also have 180 days after assuming office to comply. The legislation does not ban investments in diversified mutual funds, ETFs, or U.S. Treasury bonds.
“As public servants, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard and avoid the mere appearance of corruption,” Alford said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, too many members of Congress are engaging in suspicious stock trades based on non-public information to enrich themselves. These gross violations of the public trust make clear: we must finally take action to ban members and their spouses from owning or selling individual stocks.”
The bill reflects growing bipartisan public pressure to curb potential insider trading in Congress, a topic that has sparked controversy in recent years following high-profile reports of lawmakers trading stocks during sensitive legislative or national security developments.
Senator Hawley’s Senate version — the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act” — was introduced earlier with similar goals, named in criticism of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose husband’s stock trades have drawn public scrutiny.
The proposal adds to a slate of ethics reform efforts aimed at restoring public confidence in Congress amid concerns over transparency and conflicts of interest.
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