Summary
Stops Members of Congress, the President, and Vice President, along with their families, from owning or trading individual stocks and similar investments.
What does this bill do?
Bans stock ownership and trading for top officials
Prohibits Members of Congress, the President, Vice President, and their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks, commodities, or futures.
Requires selling of existing investments
Forces covered officials and their families to sell, or divest, any prohibited investments they currently own within a set time frame.
Sets penalties for violations
Creates a penalty for breaking the rules, including a fee of 10% of the investment's value and giving up any profits made from the illegal transaction.
Allows certain types of investments
Permits officials to own widely-held, diversified investment funds (like mutual funds), U.S. Treasury bonds, and state or city government bonds.
Provides tax relief for forced sales
Allows officials to delay paying taxes on profits from selling their investments by issuing a 'certificate of divestiture,' which treats the sale as necessary to avoid a conflict of interest.
Makes fines public information
Requires government ethics offices to publish all fines, the reasons for them, and the results on a public website.
Prevents using tax deductions for illegal trades
Stops a covered individual from deducting any financial losses from their income tax if the loss came from a transaction that violated this law.
Who does this affect?
- Members of Congress
- The President and Vice President
- Spouses and dependent children of high-level government officials
What is the real world impact?
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Increases public trust in government
Prevents elected officials from using their positions and access to secret information to enrich themselves through stock trading. This helps show the public that officials are working for them, not for personal profit.
What problem does this solve?
High-level government officials may have access to information that could help them make money in the stock market, creating a conflict of interest. This bill removes that conflict by banning them and their families from trading or owning individual stocks.
When does this start?
The bill sets different deadlines for officials to sell their investments after it becomes law.
Deadline for current officials
Officials who are in office when the law passes must sell their prohibited investments within 180 days.
Deadline for new officials
Individuals who take office after the law is passed must sell their prohibited investments within 90 days.
Deadline for newly acquired assets
If an official acquires a prohibited investment through means other than buying it (like inheritance or marriage), they have 90 days to sell it.