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Bryan Steil

Republican

“I want to talk about a bill. The bill will restrict insider trading by Congress and their families.”

Bryan Steil

Republican

“I want Congress to pass a bill. The bill will ban insider trading by Congress. The bill will also require voter ID. I think this will help clean up Washington. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Stop Insider Trading Act. There is a lot of talk in this town about draining the swamp and cleaning up Washington. Today, the rubber hits the road. Good governance matters, and the Committee on House Administration is leading the way. Under current law, Members of Congress are required to publicly disclose their stock trades. The disclosures lack details and are often filed months after a transaction. This lack of transparency and the continued practice of Members purchasing stock is fueling public frustration. It is time we ban Members of Congress from being able to buy individual companies' shares of stock. Doing so removes even the appearance of impropriety. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to pass transformational congressional ethics reform. This is the first congressional stock trading ban to receive a vote on the floor of the House. Today, every American will know where their Member stands. If you want to day trade, there is a place for that. It is called Wall Street. If you want to come to Washington, you should be working on behalf of the American people. In addition, this bill also includes a commonsense proposal that we have advanced through committee on voter ID. Voter ID strengthens election integrity and is nonpartisan and common sense. In this country, you have to show a photo ID to fly, to open a bank account, to buy a beer, and, more recently, to enjoy a never-ending pasta bowl at Olive Garden. You don't have to show an ID to vote in States like Minnesota, Illinois, California, and others, which are literally not doing the job of securing our elections, when the easy task of photo ID is in front of us. Mr. Speaker, it is a simple concept: To vote in a Federal election, you need to show a photo ID. Twenty-four States already require a form of photo ID to vote. This bill, of course, allows provisional voting if someone forgets their ID when they go to the polls--again, common sense. That is why it is so popular with the American people. They understand it. They know the need for this commonsense reform. Photo ID will help strengthen election integrity, bolster voter confidence, and increase participation. That is a good thing for our democracy. Mr. Speaker, these two proposals will clean up Washington and strengthen the integrity of our elections. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat

“I don't like this bill. It won't stop insider trading. It has parts that don't belong. It would change election rules before an election. I think Republicans just want to cause chaos. I don't like that they added voter ID rules to this bill. I think it will make voting harder. I think it asks too much of voters and election offices. This bill will cost a lot. It will not help anyone.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, what we are considering here today is a remarkable display of cynicism, even for this institution, even for this Republican leadership team. The American people are desperate for us to clean up the culture of corruption that pervades Washington. Americans see their elected leaders on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue enriching themselves, some to the tune of billions and billions of dollars. Headline after headline: Members of Congress tipping off insiders to reap huge payouts from prediction markets, and Members of Congress buying up private stocks just days before Pentagon announcements that will balloon their financial portfolios. What are Speaker Johnson and House Republicans doing about this? They are pretending here on the floor today to address the issue. They are pushing the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act, a name meant entirely to trick the American people. This bill, quite simply, is a sham. The bill allows Members of the Congress to continue owning and trading stocks. That is right. The so- called Stop Insider Trading Act actually allows Members of Congress to own and trade stocks. Even this half measure--or should I say quarter measure--goes too far for Republican leadership. How do we know? What is the tell? How do we know that the Republican posturing is all performative and that Republicans do not want a stock trading bill ban to become law? They have added a poison pill to this bill. They have added provisions that have absolutely nothing to do with stock trading and everything to do with their obsession with the 2020 election. That is right, the SAVE America Act is back, yet again. The American people keep cutting the head off this bill, flooding phone lines of their Members and Senators, demanding we block this anti-voter bill. So far, their voices are being heard. The resistance is working. Like the Hydra, these heads keep growing back: the SAVE Act, the SAVE Act again, the SAVE America Act. They have attached it to CRs, continuing resolutions. They attach it to a spending bill, funding the State Department and other completely unrelated agencies. The President tried to force it on the American people through illegal executive orders blocked by the courts. Now, Republicans come limping back from a losing fight. Sometimes you should just stop. Let's acknowledge the reality of what we are doing here: Republicans have corrupted their so-called stock trading bill with a decaying piece of the SAVE America Act corpse. The bill we are considering today would force voters in America to surrender photocopies of their photo IDs in their mail ballot envelopes. This isn't just a voter ID bill. It is a bill to destroy vote by mail, something the President routinely rails against, despite the fact that the President routinely uses mail-in voting himself, the kind of double standard Americans have come to particularly enjoy from this President. It is a bill that would dispatch millions of American voters to Kinko's--some of us are old enough to remember Kinko's; I guess it is now FedEx--or Staples or the public library to scan and print their IDs, to shove those IDs into their mail ballots, risking their constitutional right to a secret ballot if not packaged properly, to send their ID copies off to election offices in the hopes that the ballot will be counted, that the ballot won't be discarded on the counting room floor. Some might ask why these ballots would be at risk of being thrown out. It is because the bill would explicitly exclude forms of voter ID that millions of Americans are accustomed to using today. You use your student ID, your ballot will be thrown out. Your concealed carry permit: Ballot thrown out. Your employer ID: Ballot thrown out. Your Tribal ID without an expiration date on it, which is common on Tribal IDs, you get the picture: Ballot thrown out. I could go on and on. Those sitting at home watching this might think they know that Washington, D.C., is a dysfunctional place, but they can't be that irrational, can they? Surely, election officials and voters would have time to prepare for this seismic shift in American elections, right? Sorry to say, they would be overestimating how much House Republicans care about voters, about election officials, about elections themselves because this bill would take effect in 90 days. When is 90 days from today? Well, it is October 20, 2026, 2 weeks before the midterm elections. That is right, Republicans are trying to force a massive change to American voting law--eradicating mail voting as we know it--right in the middle of the final month of an election, 2 weeks before election day. We still have a system where the time, manner, and places of elections are run by State legislatures, State officials. By October 20, those State officials, State legislatures, will have already mailed out millions of ballots to voters. Voters will have already returned some of these ballots. What are election officials to do? Count the ballots cast with student IDs on October 19 and shred the ones that arrive after that, on October 20? Is that what they are going to do? Who is going to train election officials about what IDs to accept, what to do with mail ballots missing photocopies, and when will they do it? There will be chaos, complete shambles. This bill is plain absurdity, written in ink printed in the Congressional Record. Lest we forget, confusion is the point, chaos is the point. Republicans know that they will lose in November. They know that people strongly, strongly object to their handling of the economy, the war in Iran, and the immigration fiasco, which has resulted in the death of American citizens. They know the verdict in November will not be kind to them and shouldn't be, so they have one hope at winning--disruption, disarray, subversion. That is why they have redrawn congressional maps from coast to coast in the middle of this year, of this term, the middle of this decade. That is why they keep trying again and again to change the rules in the middle of the game. If they want to force States to make massive, extreme, last-minute changes just days before the midterm elections--States forced to retrain staffs, reprint ballots and ballot envelopes, and the process-- with what time, what money? Some might ask who is going to pay for all this. This is a seismic change. It won't be Washington, not House Republicans. They are too busy trying to pay for an unconscionable war in Iran, a war that has led to the tragic deaths of 18 American servicemembers, a war that no one asked for and certainly no Americans want. Republicans will send American taxpayer money to the Middle East but not to local election offices. They simply don't care about them. They don't care about the price of their gas, the price of their groceries, the sanctity of their ballot. They do not care. Again, I ask, who will pay for this? Sorry to break it to the viewers watching this, but they will. Their family, town, city, county, State, local election administrator, Republican and Democrat, are required to bear the burden of this change. This is an unfunded mandate, plain and simple. I remember hearing for years from my Republican friends: no unfunded mandates. This is the mother of all unfunded mandates, 2 weeks before an election, costing tens of billions of dollars. They are going to get stuck with the bill. This is a fiat from a Washington awash in corruption telling Americans how to run their elections. Do you know who else will pay for this? America's democracy. I say again, this bill is not about voter ID. It is about ending a voter's ability to cast a free and fair ballot. For the sake of American elections, I strongly, strongly urge the House to reject this zombie bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mary E. Miller

Republican 2:20 p.m.

“I support this bill. I think it will make Congress more honest. Some people in Congress made a lot of money from stocks. I think that is why people don't trust us. We should not use our power to get rich. We are here to serve the people. I don't like that Democrats don't support voter ID. I think they need fraud to win. I think our voting rolls are a mess. I think Democrats don't support good ideas. That's why they need to cheat to win. I want this bill to pass so people can trust us again.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Chairman Steil's bill, H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. As Members of the United States Congress, it is our job to preserve the integrity of this institution and take seriously the responsibility placed on us by our constituents. This legislation will bring about a more transparent and accountable Congress and will be a strong measure to restore the American people's trust in this institution. While older laws have prohibited Members from using nonpublic information when trading, they did not go far enough. More robust measures should be put in place, and that is exactly what this bill does. As the American people have seen, Members of this body have become extremely wealthy from trading the stock market while in office, and it is precisely because of this that the American people have lost faith in Congress and in government. We are elected to this office as a privilege to serve in this Chamber, not a right, and we should not be using our positions for our own personal and financial gain. The American people need to be reminded that we are working for them, that we have taken a solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not our own bottom line. My colleague claimed that this bill is a poison pill because the SAVE America Act is included, which we have passed multiple times out of this House, with not any support from the Democrats. The Democrats are opposed to voter ID and proof of citizenship. They cannot win elections based on their own bad ideas. They have to continue with the fraud and cheating. We know that our voter rolls are outrageously dirty, that there are millions of ineligible voters on the rolls. I personally here in D.C. have received four ballots in the mail, of which I have not solicited anyone. We have chaos because they will not vote for the SAVE America Act.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat 2:20 p.m.

“I want this bill to include the President, Vice President, and Supreme Court. President Trump traded a lot of stocks. He traded more than all Congress. This bill won't stop him. I don't think it will make people trust us. It has a big hole. We should include everyone if we really want to fix this.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I yield to my friend, I didn't say this in my opening comments, but it is remarkable, if we are working so hard and endeavoring to convince the American people that they can have faith in what we do as it relates to insider information and moving markets, I find it extraordinary that we would not include the President, Vice President, or members of the Cabinet or the Supreme Court in a bill to make sure that they are not participating. In fact, this is well known, and it has been well reported: Since Inauguration Day of last year, President Trump has had more trades individually than have all the Members of the United States House and Senate. That is 535 Members, and do you know who out-traded them all combined? President Trump. He is not in this bill. He is not in it. The Vice President is not in it. The Supreme Court is not in it. In fact, the President, Truth Social, is about to enter into selling access through an app that people will pay for that will give them information on market moves. It is extraordinary that we would somehow suggest that we are protecting the public's interest, that we care deeply about restoring faith in Washington, when there is a hole that you can drive many semi- trucks through if we are really trying to clean up this country and restore faith with the American people. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), my colleague from the Appropriations Committee.

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Mark Pocan

Democrat 2:30 p.m.

“I don't own stocks. Members of Congress shouldn't own stocks. They get insider information. This bill still lets them own and trade stocks. It has huge loopholes. I want a stronger ban on members owning and trading stocks. This bill won't stop corruption. It's weak like Velveeta.”

Official Congressional Record

As a Member of Congress, I don't own any individual stocks because, as a byproduct of my job, I get inside information on many publicly traded companies. We don't let people with insider information buy stock because it impacts markets and threatens public trust in a system that so many of our retirement dollars are in. However, this bill before us puts Members of Congress above the law. It is not a real congressional stock trading ban like other bipartisan measures. This is a weak alternative. It is like Velveeta to real Wisconsin cheese. It has been said that this bill has loopholes so big a Qatari jet could go through them. It still allows Members to hold stock. It still allows Members to buy stocks with dividends. It still allows family members to buy stocks for others for any reason. It is basically the opposite of a real stock trading ban for Members of Congress, a wolf in sheep's clothing. This bill continues the corruption of what marks too much of what is done in Washington. Mr. Speaker, please don't support this Velveeta and weak bill.

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Bryan Steil

Republican 2:30 p.m.

“I want to correct the record. My colleague was wrong about the spouse exception. This bill applies to a Member's spouse and dependent children. It restricts stock trades for them. There is a working spouse exception. If a Member's spouse's job involves stocks, they can keep working in that job. This bill restricts their stock trades for individual companies. My colleague said this bill has no restrictions on family members. That's not true. This bill restricts stock trades for Members, their spouses, and dependent children.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to a comment that was just made by my colleague, in particular, what we refer to as the spousal exception. It is very important to know. The legislation before us on the Stop Insider Trading Act applies to a Member, a Member's spouse, and the dependent children of that Member. There is what we call the spousal working exception, so if a Member's spouse works in a capacity that engages in stock, think of a life insurance salesman, maybe your spouse is selling life insurance, Mr. Speaker, we want to make sure that individual can continue their work. Of course, they would be banned under this legislation from buying individual company's shares of stock. I think it would be incorrect if we didn't correct the record where it was not accurately stated that there are no restrictions on family members. This bill, specifically, takes that into account. It includes Members, their spouses, and dependent children. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

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Mark Alford

Republican 2:30 p.m.

“I want to look good. I will not trade stocks. It is wrong to profit from my work here. Do the right thing. Pass this bill. People don't trust us. That is bad.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Steil for his dedicated hard work on getting this bill to the floor. It wasn't easy. Mr. Speaker, public service is a privilege. It is not a pathway to personal profit. Yet, too many Americans look at us here in Congress and wonder if that line has been blurred, not proven, not assumed, but simply questioned. That question alone is a problem. Mr. Speaker, that is because when lawmakers consistently outperform Wall Street, then people start asking questions. They start doubting. They stop trusting in us. For example, Mr. Speaker, there is even a Member here in our body who entered Congress years ago with a net worth in the thousands, and yet now has a net worth of well more than $200 million. That is exactly why this matters, Mr. Speaker. When I came to Congress, I made it quite clear: We should not be trading individual stocks while we are making decisions that shape our economy. That is why I introduced the PELOSI Act to draw a bright, unmistakable line, no stock trading, no gray area, and no doubt, to be above the appearance of impropriety as Chairman Steil said. The very legislation we are debating today from my friend, Chairman Steil, advances that same principle. It says that if you have the privilege of serving in this body and serving your constituents, Mr. Speaker, then you don't get to personally profit from the markets that you help influence. This isn't complicated. The American people shouldn't have to wonder if their Representative is working for them or watching their stock portfolio on their phones here on the House Chamber. Let's remove that doubt. Let's restore trust to this body. Let's raise the standard of each and every one of us here in this body today. If I wanted to, I could have made a lot of money in the last 3\1/2\ years I was here trading stock and probably would be able to afford an apartment somewhere in D.C. However, I don't, and like a lot of Members who don't trade stocks, I sleep on my couch in my office. Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? I sleep well. I sleep well knowing that I am doing the right thing. In closing, I grew up in the Church of Christ down in Baytown, Texas. I worked for a while in West Palm Beach. There was a preacher there named Dan Jenkins who used to say all the time: It is always right to do right. It is always wrong to do wrong. It is never right to do wrong, and it is never wrong to do right. Mr. Speaker, this bill is the right thing to do, not just for the American people, but for our body to restore trust to us.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat 2:30 p.m.

“The bill is weak. It will not stop corruption. You can still own stocks and make money from your power. This bill is a sham.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I suggest the gentleman from Missouri ought to read the bill before the House because everything he just said would not be cured by what he just talked about. In fact, you may still, under this bill if it became law, and thankfully it will not, you could still own stock, Mr. Speaker. Let's say you own Boeing stock and you happen to be on the Armed Services Committee or a Defense appropriator, Mr. Speaker, and you sort of say to Pentagon officials: Boy, I really like this equipment that Boeing is producing or Northrop Grumman if you happen to own them, or other companies, great companies, but you may own stock in the company. There are many ways for you, Mr. Speaker, to drive up that stock price and wait as the owner of that stock to manipulate the situation until the stock price rises and then you sell it. That is a trade. That is ownership of stock. Mr. Speaker, that is the ability to influence stockholdings you have when you come to Congress. This doesn't divest it. The gentleman made a great speech, and I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, it doesn't have anything to do with what the bill does. Besides, Mr. Speaker, you can have private stock. There are reports that people have purchased private stock in companies that then became public that then were sold to public companies and made windfalls here. Mr. Speaker, you could still do that under this bill. You can engage in crypto, Mr. Speaker. You can buy commodities, and you can participate in the prediction markets. The notion that somehow Americans should see this bill pass and relax and suddenly feel as if the people making public policy decisions in Washington suddenly won't be doing anything in their self-interest but will, instead, be doing it in the interest of the American people--it is a word I used earlier--I contend, is exactly what this is. It is a sham. This will not fix anything, and that is what it is intended to do, to not fix anything, but to make people believe that we have addressed it. We haven't addressed anything. That is not what this bill is. Mr. Speaker, when you add the element of really trying to subvert this election, there is nothing that argues for this bill. This isn't even a partial way of getting it done. This is a diversion, and it is intended to get people to feel better about something when they shouldn't feel better at all. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan).

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Chrissy Houlahan

Democrat 2:30 p.m.

“I want to ban Members of Congress from trading stocks. This bill does not do that. It is not an honest attempt. It also adds new barriers for Americans to vote by mail. I want a clean bill to ban Member stock trading. I don't want this bill that also makes it harder for people to vote.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, two things can be true at the same time. I can support voter ID requirements, which I do, and I can support banning Members of Congress from trading stocks, which I do, and I am in compliance. I can also oppose this bill because it is not an honest attempt to do either. This bill's stock-trading provisions do not go nearly far enough. In this bill, Members can retain their investments that they already own, preserving the very conflicts of interest that a real ban would eliminate. Instead, also in this bill, Republicans are attaching new barriers for Americans to vote by mail, requiring photocopies of a very narrow set of acceptable IDs, more narrow than those required in the State of Texas. They are so narrow that a very similar bill was vetoed by a Republican Governor in the State of Ohio. They put more burdens upon voters without access to copiers and more strain on election officials. If Republicans really wanted to ban Member stock trading, then bring us a really clean bill, and I will vote for it. In fact, I offered amendments to this bill, and Republicans rejected them all. Additionally, congressional ethics cannot become a Trojan horse for voter suppression. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill.

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Bryan Steil

Republican 2:30 p.m.

“I want to thank Mr. Roy. He worked hard on this stock trading ban. We would not be here without him.”

Chip Roy

Republican 2:30 p.m.

“I want to thank my friend for his work on this stock trading ban. I am proud of this legislation. There is a bipartisan problem with insider trading in Congress. Members should serve the public, not their portfolios. This bill is a step forward. I would prefer a divestiture approach, but this is still good. I hope everyone will support it. I think there should be a straight vote on this bill. I will keep pushing for that.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Wisconsin, Chairman Steil, for his incredible work on this, his leadership, his friendship, and making sure that we are here today and getting this done. It has been a partnership I have been happy to engage in. I am proud of the legislation that we put forward. Let me say that again to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: I am proud of the legislation that we put forward. It is, in fact, good legislation. Let's back up 1 minute and talk about the problem. Right here, according to data I have got right now, 11,000 trades totaling between $600 million and $900 million of legislators over the last year. We have got one Member, a Democrat, $79 million of 406 trades; one man, a Republican, $75 million on 1,000 trades. A Democrat, $55 million on 3,923 trades. I could keep going on a bipartisan basis. I want to make clear that it is a bipartisan problem. I want to take a minute to say that we should recognize the bipartisan nature of the work that it took to get here, even though there is some disagreement here now. I have got friends on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Morelle, Seth Magaziner, and others I have been working with closely to try to advance this cause, and I want to thank them because they have worked in good faith to try to address this issue. I want to be clear to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I have often heard excuses. It says: I have a right to trade equities. I have a right to trade stocks. Let me be very clear: You do not have that right. There is no such right guaranteed in the Constitution. It is a privilege to serve in the United States Congress. When you come to Congress, you are supposed to set that aside. You are supposed to come here and serve. You come here for 2 years, 4 years, 6 years, 8 years--preferably not 40. You set down your personal interests, and you serve. Unfortunately, a lot of Members have been violating the spirit of that. That is why we are here today. We passed legislation in 2012 that made a lot of this transparent. Today, we have legislation on the floor that I am proud of, that would stop the ability of Members of Congress to acquire equities and would have significant transparency and presale requirements before you can sell equities you hold. Yes, I had legislation that would have required divestiture. I prefer that approach, but you have to build a coalition in a body. I think this is a giant step forward. I wish my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and my colleagues on this side of the aisle would recognize that and praise it. If we did that, it would be night and day in this body if people were not allowed to acquire Microsoft while you are voting on technology; acquire Lockheed when you are voting on Defense; acquire pharma or Big Insurance when you are voting on healthcare policies when you are supposed to be focusing on the American people and not focusing on your portfolio. That is where we should be as a body. I am proud that we are bringing this legislation forward today. I hope that everybody will support it, regardless of which side of the aisle you are on. Obviously, I am the lead author also of the SAVE America Act. That legislation has been offered on the back of this bill. I think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle should support it. I don't think they are supporting it for a lot of political reasons. I am not going to debate that here because right now we are talking about this bill addressing stock trading. I will say one thing that I think merits being said: I think we should be having a straight up-or-down vote on this stock trading bill. That is what I think. I think my friends who worked in good faith to do that deserve that on both sides of the aisle. I am going to end up voting for this because I support both measures. I am not done this year demanding that we have a straight up-or-down vote on stock trading. You can't, whether you are on this or that side of the aisle, hide behind the SAVE America Act for your opposition to what we need to do to change the culture of this institution. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Steil and my friends who I worked with on this.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat 2:40 p.m.

“I gave up my stocks when I came to Congress. This bill would let me keep them. I could still do a lot to help my investments. That's wrong. We should stop it. Make politicians sell their stocks. This bill won't stop insider trading. It just pretends to do something. A Republican bought stock and it went up a lot. This bill would let that keep happening. That's not good.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Roy, whom I have had a chance to be in a number of meetings with on this issue, about restoring faith and trust in America. Recognize, I came to Congress and sold all of the stock that my wife and I owned. At the time, as I recall--it has been many years--Microsoft, Google, Alpha, a number of technology stocks. If I had come here under this bill, should this become law, I would be able to continue to hold onto all of them. Honestly, depending on what committees I serve, I can do a great deal to make sure that my investments were guarded, that they were protected, that they were furthered. It is not supposed to be the way this functions. That is not what we have been talking about. Holding on to stock when you are in a position to affect markets is wrong. Simply put, it is wrong. We should end it. Require the divestiture of stock by Members of Congress, the President, the Vice President, and members of the courts. That is what we should be doing. Anything less than that, particularly when you continue to hold stock, continue to trade by selling stock, when it is appropriate for you and your portfolio, and even to be able to take dividends from stock you own and reinvest and buy more stock--that is allowed under this bill, as well. Others have pointed out Democratic Members and recognized them. There are glaring examples here. However, to reiterate the point, this bill would not prevent insider trading. It would just trick the American people into thinking we are trying to do something about corruption when we are not. Take one glaring example. In December of last year, a Member of the House Republican leadership purchased up to $250,000 in private shares of Elon Musk's xAI. Within days, the Department of Defense announced an expanded partnership with xAI to provide Grok AI tools. Convenient timing, no doubt. I am sure most Americans would love to have participated in such convenient timing. This Republican Member of leadership, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, including on the subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, just happened to buy xAI stock shortly before the Department of Defense's announcement. They sure did. That is what they did. It gets worse. Earlier this year, Elon Musk's SpaceX acquired xAI soon thereafter. SpaceX launched an initial public offering, and the value of the xAI shares this Member of Congress had acquired skyrocketed. In fact, the Member may have made as much as a 60 percent return on the Member's investment, if liquidated at the right time, potentially a $150,000 profit on a $250,000 initial investment. That is extraordinary. Yet, this bill that the Republicans are purporting would restore trust in America would not have in any way impeded the ability of a Member to do that. If that isn't extraordinary, if that is not an indictment on what is happening here, I don't know what is. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), my dear friend.

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Raja Krishnamoorthi

Democrat 2:40 p.m.

“I don't like this bill. It doesn't ban stock trading by politicians. The other party paired it with a bill that makes it harder to vote. That's bad. I want a vote on a different bill that bans politicians and their families from trading stocks. Congress should not be a casino.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 7008. Mr. Speaker, I have helped lead bipartisan efforts to ban stock trading by Members of Congress, and I am deeply frustrated that the majority refuses to take the issue seriously enough at this crucial time when Congress' stock is at an all-time low. We should not be playing partisan games on this. The Republican majority is pushing a bill that still allows Members of Congress to hold, sell, and even buy certain individual stocks. They have paired it with the SAVE America Act, a voter suppression measure, that would make it harder, not easier, for Americans to participate in our elections. I agree with Congressman Roy on this particular point that we should have an up-or-down vote on the bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act, which we have all supported, which has over 200 signatures, I believe, as a discharge petition. It finally bans trading by Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children. Mr. Speaker, Congress is not a casino, and it is time we proved it.

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Scott Perry

Republican 2:40 p.m.

“I want to praise the other guy. I was for this bill and a bunch of other bills. I don't have stock. I want to serve. I don't care about money. Service is sacrifice. Thank you. I like this bill. People are going to see how they vote.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership and his dogged determination to bring this to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud original cosponsor of not only this bill but every other bipartisan bill that is not here. The record for me is clear on this. Last year alone, Members made, according to my count, over 13,000 trades, totaling over $600 million with 202 representatives and 56 senators trading, both Republican and Democrat. Every single year, at some point, somebody publishes a list of the Members that were most successful in trading. You will never see my name on there because I don't own any stock, no commodities, no crypto, none of it, because, Mr. Speaker, I came here to serve. If you know anything about service, you know service is about sacrifice. Service isn't about what you can get. It is about what you can give. Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor, the chairman, the author of this bill, for his dogged determination. I am glad we are going to vote on it, and everybody is going to see.

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Joseph D. Morelle

Democrat 2:40 p.m.

“I don't like that. I want taxpayers to spend more money. More money for my program.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I go back to a comment I made earlier in my opening about the timing of this bill and the effective date. Ninety days from now is October 20, 2 weeks before election day. There will be millions of ballots, mail-in ballots, absentee ballots. Several years ago, this Congress passed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. For uniformed and overseas persons who are eligible to vote, UOCAVA ballots will already be en route to voters. Voters will have already cast ballots, perhaps in the millions, by that time. How are election administrators across the United States supposed to comply with this new Federal law dropped right in the middle of the final weeks of the 2026 midterm elections? It is effectively election malpractice. It is creating discord. It will create countless questions. I don't know who is going to pay for the retraining. I don't even know how one would do the retraining. Election workers are going to be stuck, as I envision it, with envelopes which will need to have not only photocopies--by the way, I don't know where any of this information gets stored after the fact. Is it going to be in a vault somewhere? Is a voter's driver's license or proper ID going to be kept somewhere? By the way, how will they make sure that when someone, as they will no doubt do, puts their ID in their ballot, eliminating any chance that they have secrecy of their ballot--who is managing that? The local election administrators? They are going to train all their workers within 2 weeks of election day on a brand-new system that has never been done anywhere in this country. I went through this in the Rules Committee. Most of the IDs in most of our States, even the most conservative States in America, have broader ID requirements than this. Student IDs are not allowed. Most States allow it. All kinds of IDs that people have, they won't be able to use them anymore. Texas won't be in compliance. Florida won't be in compliance. The Governor of Ohio just vetoed a bill like this, which effectively criticized the intent of the bill and said it wouldn't do anything for voter security. How does this all happen? The purpose of the change is to throw election administration into disarray. I don't know how we can see it otherwise. At the very least, if you were thinking about this, you would make it effective next year or the year after to give local administrators time to prepare and probably give them some resources so they could do all manner of things necessary to comply with admittedly a bad law. But at least it would be something you could say with a straight face was serious or an attempt to be serious. This isn't serious. This is creating discord. It is reckless. It is irresponsible and ultimately will, once again, put the question in front of American voters of: Are they really sure they should have confidence in our system? I think it is clear some people want Americans to doubt our system, which, by the way, they should have confidence in. These election administrators, Democrats and Republicans, at the local level care deeply about their work. They see this as a sacred trust. People are getting in and voting, and there is no design to have all manner of things that they suggest happen. It is simply not true. That is why people will look at this and will look at January 6, 2021, and will look at all these things and conclude rightly that all we want to do is create discord and subversion of this democratic system. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), my colleague, friend, and partner on the Committee on House Administration.

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Norma J. Torres

Democrat 2:50 p.m.

“I don't like this bill. It has loopholes. I offered a change to close the loopholes. My change was rejected. They want to protect themselves. This bill also makes it harder for some people to vote. I want you to vote no.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to expose this package for what it truly is: a protection plan for powerful insiders disguised as a crackdown on insider trading. The so-called Stop Insider Trading Act does not ban congressional stock trading. It leaves major loopholes open, including trading in private companies and other markets. During committee markup, I offered a simple amendment to close these loopholes, freeze existing portfolios and stop dividend reinvestments, but my Republican colleagues rejected it. They chose protecting themselves over accountability and transparency. Now, they have attached this watered-down stock trading bill to legislation that makes it even harder for Americans to vote, especially women in traditional marriages like mine where I changed my name and took on my husband's name. The voter ID act eliminates trusted registration methods, restricts acceptable IDs, and creates unnecessary barriers between American citizens and the ballot box. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

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Thomas H. Kean, Jr.

Republican 2:50 p.m.

“I support this bill. Members of Congress should not profit from their office. I put my investments in a blind trust. That is more than the rules require. Everyone in Congress should be held to a higher standard. I want everyone to vote yes on this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Members of Congress should serve the public, not profit from public office. That is why I strongly support the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would prohibit Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing individual stocks. I have worked to lead by example by placing all of my investable assets into a blind structure that is managed by independent professionals. I do not direct, influence, or participate in any investment decisions, and every transaction occurs without my input, without my prior knowledge, and without my direction. That approach goes above and beyond current House ethics rules. It is past time that this entire body be held to that higher standard. Public service is a public trust. I urge every Republican and every Democrat to vote ``yes'' and to hold every Member of Congress to that high standard that the American people deserve.

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Suhas Subramanyam

Democrat 2:50 p.m.

“The American people don't trust us. We should pass a bill to stop Congress and the President from trading stocks. But this bill won't pass anyway. It also adds a voter suppression bill. I say vote no on this fake bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the American people have lost trust in this institution, and banning stock trading in Congress and in the administration is actually one way to fix that. In 2025, Members of Congress and their families executed over 13,000 trades. President Trump's own family trading has helped add billions to their net worth. That is why we should be debating a real stock trading ban like the Restore Trust in Government Act, one that would ban Members of Congress, the administration, and their families from owning, buying, or selling individual stocks. Instead, House Republicans only allow us to vote on a toothless, watered-down stock trading bill. Plus, to make sure that this fake stock trading ban doesn't move in the Senate, they throw in the SAVE America Act, which would disenfranchise millions of Americans. I ask: Why are we afraid to put a comprehensive stock trading ban on the floor and have it apply to the President, too? Let's vote on a real stock trading ban and vote ``no'' on this fake ban with voter suppression.

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Young Kim

Republican 2:50 p.m.

“I want to ban Congress from trading stocks. Americans don't trust us. We need to pass this bill to make people trust us again. This should be easy.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, over 80 percent of Americans believe Members of Congress shouldn't be trading stocks and benefiting off insider information. Yet, while Americans have made their position clear, some Members of Congress and their families made more than 13,000 stock trades worth more than $600 million last year. Americans deserve to know they have honest representation that puts their interests first in Washington, not career politicians looking to get rich. That is why I am proud to rise in strong support of this Stop Insider Trading Act to restore trust in Congress and bring accountability that the American people are asking for. Congress is not a VIP club for lifelong insiders to enrich themselves. We are here to serve the American people, and the American people have given us a clear mandate. This is not partisan. It is not controversial. Stopping insider trading should be the easiest decision we make this week. Let's get this done.

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What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates

Stop Insider Trading Act

Bryan Steil

Bryan Steil

Joseph D. Morelle

Mary E. Miller

Joseph D. Morelle

Mark Pocan

Bryan Steil

Mark Alford

Joseph D. Morelle

Chrissy Houlahan

Bryan Steil

Chip Roy

Joseph D. Morelle

Raja Krishnamoorthi

Scott Perry

Joseph D. Morelle

Norma J. Torres

Thomas H. Kean, Jr.

Suhas Subramanyam

Young Kim