The U.S. House voted 232 to 198 on July 22, 2026, to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act, H.R. 7008, a bill that would bar sitting members of Congress from buying individual stocks.
The measure, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, would prohibit lawmakers, their spouses and their dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks, and would require them to disclose any intended stock sale to the House clerk or Senate secretary at least seven days in advance.
A violation would carry a penalty of $2,000 or 10 percent of the transaction's value, whichever is greater, plus forfeiture of any gains from the sale.
Why it matters: polls have long shown broad, bipartisan public unease with lawmakers trading stocks in companies they can influence through legislation and oversight, and candidates in both parties have campaigned on curbing it. The vote marks the furthest such a restriction has advanced in the House.
The bill drew criticism from the left even as it passed. It would not require members to sell stocks they already own, only to stop buying new ones, and Republicans paired it with an unrelated voter-identification requirement for federal elections and an exemption for the president and administration officials.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, called it "a fake stock trading ban," and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York, said "this bill would allow members of Congress to continue to own and trade individual stocks." Thirteen Democrats joined all voting Republicans in support; the rest of the Democratic caucus opposed it.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where its path is uncertain.
