According to Senator Elizabeth Warren, the House bill “won’t solve the problem“ of insider trading in Congress as lawmakers will still be allowed to own and sell stocks.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ostensibly prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks.
In a 232-198 vote in the House on Wednesday, lawmakers approved the Stop Insider Trading Act, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration. Representative Bryan Steil, the Wisconsin lawmaker who sponsored the bill, said that the legislation “ensures no lawmaker can profit off of insider information” and “institutes strict penalties for any violation.”
“We have not had a bill on the House floor on this topic with this opportunity before,” said Steil from the House floor on Wednesday, describing the penalties:
