Senate Democrats block bill seeking to ban lawmakers from trading stocks – Deseret News
The Senate failed to advance a bill that would block lawmakers from trading stocks while in office as Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of sneaking in unrelated provisions to limit mail-in voting.
The Stop Insider Trading Act failed in a 53-47 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed to begin debate. All Democrats rejected the proposal over complaints it doesn’t go far enough, noting that while it would limit lawmakers from buying and selling stocks, it would allow members to keep the stocks they’ve previously purchased.
Democrats also rejected language in the bill that would establish voter ID requirements for elections — a provision party leaders argued amounted to voter suppression.
In a speech before the vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the bill paired two “common sense” measures.
“Will Democrats support commonsense measures like a stock trading ban, voter ID, and protection from higher energy costs?” Thune said. “Or will they continue to play politics?”
The unrelated provision comes as Republicans try to push Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship and voter ID bill, through Congress. Although the election bill has passed the House three times, it has since stalled in the Senate due to a lack of Democratic support, which is necessary to overcome the 60-vote filibuster.
“Republicans do not care about reining in insider trading,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “Their bill still allows Members of Congress and President Trump to own and sell stocks, and it’s loaded with voting restriction provisions. Not to mention, Trump has traded more stocks than all of Congress combined since his term began. It’s designed to hide insider trading — not stop it.”
Lee responded to Schumer on social media. “Chuck Schumer should know better than to call Voter ID a ‘poison pill.’ Americans overwhelmingly want it.”
The bill does not extend to the president, which Democrats argued was a bigger concern under the Trump administration. Recent financial disclosures for the president show that his investment advisers made more than 21,000 trades on his behalf last year.
The proposal seeks to ban lawmakers, their spouses and any dependents from purchasing publicly traded stocks, and it would require lawmakers to file a public notice at least seven days in advance if they plan to sell them. That notice would need to be made with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers in both parties have been pushing for years to implement restrictions on lawmakers and their family members engaging in stock trading. Federal law already bans lawmakers to trade based on insider information, but enforcement of those laws are rarely enforced.
But with the failed vote on Wednesday, it all but ensures that attempts to crack down on insider trading will have to wait until after the midterm elections. The Senate is scheduled to adjourn this week for its campaign recess period, and the chamber is not expected to return until November.
