House passes bill on lawmakers using insider information for stock trading
The US House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act in a 232-198 vote and sent it to the Senate. The bill would bar members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from buying publicly traded stocks, aiming to prevent lawmakers from profiting off insider information. It includes penalties such as a $2,000 fine or 10% of the transaction, plus forfeiture of gains. Critics, including some Democrats and Senator Elizabeth Warren, say it is too weak because it still lets lawmakers keep and sell stocks they already own, with a seven-day notice requirement before sales. The measure applies only to Congress, not the president or vice president. The vote came as lawmakers also considered a separate bill by Rep. Bryan Steil to restrict public officials from betting on prediction markets tied to politics or public policy.
