WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of senators on July 10 put forth a bill that would ban members of Congress and other elected officials from trading stocks.
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) announced that they had reached an agreement on the legislation.
“Members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we legislate and while we have access to confidential and privileged information. This is long overdue. This is necessary,” Mr. Ossoff said at a press conference at the Capitol.
The bill would require lawmakers to divest from any previous stock purchases by 2027. It would affect lawmakers, the president and vice president, their spouses, and their dependent children, and it would apply to securities, commodities, futures, and trusts….