House passes congressional stock buying ban

But Republicans attached a voter ID bill to it, dooming the bill in the Senate.

On July 22 the House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act (SITA), with a poison pill for the Senate. The main part of the legislation would increase penalties for insider trading in Congress from $200 to $2000 or 10% of the value of the transaction, whichever is greater, plus any profits. But the current penalties which are imposed by the STOCK Act, passed in 2012, have never been successfully enforced, despite violations. SITA would also ban legislators, their spouses, and dependents from purchasing individual stocks, but it would not require them to divest any stocks they currently own. It also would not ban them from selling stocks they already own, as long as they issue a public notice at least seven days in advance.

Critics claim it doesn’t go far enough to stop insider trading, as its name implies.

But the bill is probably dead in the Senate because of a poison pill: SITA also includes most of H.R. 9368: Voter ID Act, which would require photo ID to cast a vote in federal elections. The addition comes as President Trump continues to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and require states to submit voter rolls to a federal database for review. Rep.Thomas Massie, a Republican who voted for SITA, posted on social media, complaining that Republicans inserted this provision to SITA with the intention of using it to dissuade Democrats from voting for the bill so it can be used against them in the upcoming November midterms. Still, 13 Democrats voted with Republicans to advance the bill to the Senate. Just as the SAVE America Act does not yet have the votes to pass the Senate, with Democrats opposing it, SITA probably won’t either.

Insider trading in Congress and the White House has been a public concern for a long time, and there is bipartisan support to address it. Other bills have been proposed by both parties this Congress, but haven’t gained as much ground. The Restore Trust in Congress Act sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy (R), the Restore Trust in Government Act sponsored by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D), and the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Trading (HONEST) Act sponsored by Rep. Josh Hawley (R) each would have provided stronger enforcement against government insider trading than SITA. None of those bills, however, have made it to either chamber floor for a vote.