Bipartisan ETHICS Act Clears Key Hurdle to Head to Senate Floor
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today issued the following statement after his legislation to ban Congressional stock trading passed out of committee:
“Members of Congress should serve the people, not their portfolios. For the first time, a Senate committee considered and passed legislation to ban Congressional stock trading, a practice that appears deeply corrupt to the American people and erodes public respect for our government institutions. There should be no question about whether a lawmaker is voting on or writing legislation in the best interests of their constituents or the best interests of their investments.
“More than 85 percent of Democrats and Republicans support it, and now banning Congressional stock trading has the momentum it needs to become law. I thank my colleagues for passing this important bill out of committee and am pushing to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote as soon as possible.”
Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) passed – with bipartisan support – Merkley’s Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act. Earlier this month, Merkley joined HSGAC Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) to announce an agreement and bipartisan changes to the ETHICS Act, which cleared the way for Wednesday’s markup and vote. The bipartisan modified legislation would immediately ban Members of Congress from buying stocks and other covered investments and prohibit members from selling stocks 90 days after enactment. The bipartisan modified legislation also requires Members of Congress, the President, the Vice President, and their spouses and dependent children to divest from all covered investments, effective March 31, 2027.
You can read Merkley’s statement for the record from the ETHICS Act markup by clicking here.
Merkley has been leading the charge to end Congressional stock trading for over 12 years. In 2012, Merkley and Senator Sherrod Brown led an effort to add an amendment to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act banning trading by Members of Congress. In 2023, after a year of collaboration and amid calls for government accountability, Merkley and Brown led the introduction of the ETHICS Act, which is sponsored by 23 Senators.
###
English 
Spanish