House petition seeks ban on lawmakers' stocks
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna filed a discharge petition last week to force a House vote on a measure that would ban members of Congress from owning individual stocks, a step beyond current disclosure rules under the STOCK Act. The petition has 16 signatures so far but needs 218 to reach the floor, and comes amid renewed scrutiny of member trades around President Trump’s tariff announcements; Speaker Mike Johnson said such a ban would deter people from running for Congress.
📌 Key Facts
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna filed a discharge petition to force a vote on a congressional stock-ownership ban.
- The petition currently has 16 signatures; 218 are needed to compel a vote.
- The push follows attention to trades by at least 25 lawmakers during tariff-related market swings; Johnson told Punchbowl the ban would be a disincentive.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2024, 113 members of Congress made 9,261 stock trades involving 706 million shares or other assets.
Congressional Stock Trading: Who Trades and Makes the Most — The Motley Fool
In 2024, Democratic lawmakers' stock portfolios returned an average of 31.1%, Republican lawmakers 26.1%, compared to the S&P 500's 24.9%.
Congressional Stock Trading: Who Trades and Makes the Most — The Motley Fool
72% of Americans nationally favor prohibiting members of Congress and their live-in family from trading individual stocks, with support ranging from 71% to 76% in swing states.
Stock Trading — Program for Public Consultation
More than half of the members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are millionaires, with a median net worth exceeding $1 million.
How Many Members Of Congress Are Millionaires? - CountyOffice.org — YouTube