[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4169-S4170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Stop Insider Trading Act

  Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, people generally in this country--and 
Nebraskans in particular--expect when they send their elected officials 
to Washington, DC, that they are going to serve the communities. Sadly, 
that belief that we are coming here is undermined by some of our 
policies that we have.
  For example, 80 percent of Americans believe that Congress does not 
do a good job of keeping the inside information that we have separate 
from our finances. Consequently, the approval rating of Congress is 
about 17 percent.
  And it is not just the polling that shows that we have got a problem; 
so does history. We can look on social media and see that regularly, 
publishing the trades of Members of this body is something people try 
to profit off of.
  In fact, the former Speaker's trades were published quite regularly. 
And as crazy as it sounds, that became a legitimate investment strategy 
because it was making people money.
  We also had a former member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who 
sold about $1.5 million in stock in 2020 that occurred right before the 
market tanked because of the COVID pandemic.
  Even the appearance of impropriety undermines the credibility of the 
House and the Senate, that it gives the--even if we give the perception 
that we are using inside information to benefit financially, it 
undermines the public's trust in our democracy and may depress people 
from wanting to vote, keep them home, and it certainly undermines the 
faith they have in our institutions.
  I have a solution. My Stop Insider Trading Act. My Stop Insider 
Trading Act would go beyond our current disclosure laws. What it would 
say is that if you become elected to the Congress--either the House or 
the Senate--that you would not be allowed to buy any more stocks.
  Now, if you owned it already, you would be allowed to keep those. But 
if you wanted to sell those, you would have to give 7 to 14 days' 
notice so that the public would be able to see what you intended to do 
and be able to take

[[Page S4170]]

appropriate action well ahead of what you would be able to do.
  So you would not be able to take advantage of any inside information 
ahead of what the public had. You would not be able to sell until the 
public knew well in advance, and, of course, you would be prohibited 
from buying stocks as well.
  My bill also has real teeth in it, a minimum of a $2,000 fine or 10 
percent of the cost of the proceeds.
  So, for example, if you went and sold a stock after getting elected, 
without giving the proper notice, and say it was a million-dollar 
transaction, you would have to pay a $100,000 fine. In addition, you 
would have to forfeit all of the profits. The Stop Insider Trading Act 
has real teeth in it to back up the policy.
  By making sure that Members of Congress cannot buy stock on inside 
information and would have to notify the public if they wish to sell 
any stock well in advance of their actually being able to do that, we 
can help restore the faith of the American people that we are keeping 
separate the inside information that we get for very good reasons from 
our finances.
  Let's be clear, no Member of the House or Senate should benefit from 
inside information. They should not be allowed to profit from it. This 
is supposed to be a public service, and we need to take steps to 
restore the credibility with the American people.
  The Stop Insider Trading Act is the solution to be able to help 
restore that credibility, to let the American people know that we are 
not financially benefiting from inside information. It would apply to 
not only Members of the House and Senate but their spouses and their 
dependent children as well.
  The President has called on us to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act. 
The Vice President just last week, in addressing House Republicans, 
said we need to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act. It is time for 
Congress to act on this important piece of legislation that will help 
restore people's faith in their institutions.
  I call on my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the 
President's desk.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Armstrong). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.