House passes bill to limit stock purchases by members of Congress
The Stop Insider Trading Act would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks.
Washington — The House on Wednesday passed a bill placing some limits on congressional stock trading, but the lack of tougher restrictions and the inclusion of a voter ID provision complicated its support among Democrats.
Lawmakers approved the bill in a 232 to 198 vote, with 13 Democrats voting with all Republicans in favor.
The measure "ensures that lawmakers cannot use their position to profit off insider information they may garner while serving in Congress," Steil said Monday.
Republicans combined the stock trading bill with an unrelated provision that requires voters to show photo identification when voting in federal elections, as President Trump pushes for strict new voter-eligibility rules.
Democrats panned the bill as not going far enough, pushing for an outright ban on members of Congress from owning stocks and for those limits to also extend to the president and administration officials.