“To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to prohibit transactions involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a new subchapter IV to chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, banning Members of Congress and their spouses from holding, purchasing, or selling covered financial instruments during a Member's term of service, subject to a one-time divestiture exception for sales completed within 180 days of enactment (for incumbent Members) or the start of a term (for new Members). Covered financial instruments include securities (as defined in 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)), security futures, commodities, and comparable synthetic interests (e.g., derivatives such as options or warrants), excluding diversified mutual funds, diversified exchange-traded funds, U.S. Treasury bills, notes, or bonds, and compensation from a spouse's or dependent child's primary occupation. The section requires annual compliance certifications from each Member of Congress, to be published online by the supervising ethics committees (i.e., Senate Select Committee on Ethics and House Committee on Ethics), and authorizes those committees to (1) issue rules, guidance, and good-faith divestiture extensions; (2) assess civil fines of 10% of the value of each undivested covered financial instrument every 30 days following notice and an opportunity for hearing or compliance; and (3) publish fine details and outcomes. Violations trigger disgorgement of profits to the U.S. Treasury, with fine assessments appealable via privileged floor vote in the relevant chamber. (Thus, the ban effectively requires divestment of individual stocks, commodities, and derivatives into permitted passive or government holdings.)