Calendar No. 294
119th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to prohibit transactions involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress.
April 28, 2025
Mr. Hawley (for himself, Mr. Moreno, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
December 10, 2025
Reported by Mr. Paul, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to prohibit transactions involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act”.
SEC. 2. Banning insider trading in Congress.
(a) In general.—Chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“In this subchapter:
“(1) COVERED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered financial instrument’ means—
“(I) a security (as defined in section 3(a) of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)));
“(II) a security future (as defined in that section); or
“(III) a commodity (as defined in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a)); and
“(ii) any economic interest comparable to an interest described in clause (i) that is acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, a warrant, or other similar means.
“(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered financial instrument’ does not include—
“(i) a diversified mutual fund;
“(ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund;
“(iii) a United States Treasury bill, note, or bond; or
“(iv) compensation from the primary occupation of a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress.
“(2) DEPENDENT CHILD; MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The terms ‘dependent child’ and ‘Member of Congress’ have the meanings given those terms in section 13101.
“(3) SUPERVISING ETHICS COMMITTEE.—The term ‘supervising ethics committee’ means, as applicable—
“(A) the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate; and
“(B) the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives.
“§ 13162. Prohibition on certain transactions and holdings involving covered financial instruments
“(a) Prohibition.—Except as provided in subsection (b), a Member of Congress, or any spouse of a Member of Congress, may not, during the term of service of the Member of Congress, hold, purchase, or sell any covered financial instrument.
“(b) Exceptions.—The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to a sale by a Member of Congress, or a spouse of a Member of Congress, that is completed by the date that is—
“(1) for a Member of Congress serving on the date of enactment of the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, 180 days after that date of enactment; and
“(2) for any Member of Congress who commences service as a Member of Congress after the date of enactment of the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, 180 days after the first date of the initial term of service.
“(1) DISGORGEMENT.—A Member of Congress shall disgorge to the Treasury of the United States any profit from a transaction or holding involving a covered financial instrument that is conducted in violation of this section.
“(2) FINES.—A Member of Congress who holds or conducts a transaction involving, or whose spouse holds or conducts a transaction involving, a covered financial instrument in violation of this section may be subject to a civil fine assessed by the applicable supervising ethics committee under section 13164.
“§ 13163. Certification of compliance
“(a) In general.—Not less frequently than annually, each Member of Congress shall submit to the applicable supervising ethics committee a written certification that the Member of Congress has achieved compliance with the requirements of this subchapter.
“(b) Publication.—The supervising ethics committees shall publish each certification submitted under subsection (a) on a publicly available website.
“§ 13164. Authority of supervising ethics committees
“(a) In general.—The supervising ethics committees may implement and enforce the requirements of this subchapter, including by—
“(i) rules governing that implementation; and
“(ii) 1 or more reasonable extensions to achieve compliance with this subchapter, if the applicable supervising ethics committee determines that a Member of Congress is making a good faith effort to divest any covered financial instruments; and
“(B) guidance relating to covered financial instruments;
“(2) publishing on the internet certifications submitted by Members of Congress under section 13163(a); and
“(3) assessing civil fines against any Member of Congress who is in violation of this subchapter, subject to subsection (b).
“(b) Requirements for civil fines.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Before imposing a fine pursuant to this section, the applicable supervising ethics committee shall provide to the applicable Member of Congress—
“(A) a written notice describing each covered financial instrument transaction for which a fine will be assessed; and
“(B) an opportunity, with respect to each such covered financial instrument transaction—
“(i) for a hearing; and
“(ii) to achieve compliance with the requirements of this subchapter.
“(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event of continuing noncompliance after issuance of the notice described in paragraph (1), the applicable supervising ethics committee shall impose a civil penalty, in the amount described in subparagraph (B), on the Member of Congress to whom a notice was provided—
“(i) on the date that is 30 days after the date of provision of the notice; and
“(ii) during the period in which such noncompliance continues, not less frequently than once every 30 days thereafter.
“(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of each civil penalty imposed on a Member of Congress pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be an amount equal to 10 percent of the value of each covered financial instrument that was not divested in violation of this subchapter during the period covered by the penalty.
“(3) PUBLICATION.—Each supervising ethics committee shall publish on a publicly available website a description of—
“(A) each fine assessed by the supervising ethics committee pursuant to this section;
“(B) the reasons why each such fine was assessed; and
“(C) the result of each assessment, including any hearing under paragraph (1)(B)(i) relating to the assessment.
“(4) APPEAL.—A Member of Congress may appeal the assessment of a fine under this section to a vote on the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as applicable, as a privileged motion.
“§ 13165. Audit by Government Accountability Office
“Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
“(1) conduct an audit of the compliance by Members of Congress with the requirements of this subchapter; and
“(2) submit to the supervising ethics committees a report describing the results of the audit conducted under paragraph (1).”.
(1) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“13161. Definitions.
“13162. Prohibition on certain transactions and holdings involving covered financial instruments.
“13163. Certification of compliance.
“13164. Authority of supervising ethics committees.
“13165. Audit by Government Accountability Office.”.
(2) PERSONS REQUIRED TO FILE.—Section 13103(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A) in paragraph (9), by striking “as defined in section 13101 of this title”;
(B) in paragraph (10), by striking “as defined in section 13101 of this title”;
(C) in paragraph (11), by striking “as defined in section 13101 of this title”; and
(D) in paragraph (12), by striking “as defined in section 13101 of this title”.
(3) LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995.—Section 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by striking “legislative branch employee serving in a position described under section 13101(13) of title 5, United States Code” and inserting “officer or employee of Congress (as defined in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code)”.
This Act may be cited as the “Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act”.
SEC. 2. Divestment of certain assets of Members of Congress, the President, the Vice President, and their spouses and dependent children.
(a) In general.—Chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“In this subchapter:
“(1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘commodity’ has the meaning given the term in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a).
“(2) COVERED INVESTMENT.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered investment’ means—
“(ii) any economic interest comparable to an interest described in clause (i) that is acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, warrant, or other similar means; or
“(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered investment’ does not include—
“(iv) compensation from the primary occupation of the spouse of a covered person, or any security that is issued or paid by an operating business that is the primary employer of such a spouse that is issued or paid to such a spouse;
“(v) holding and acquiring any security that is issued or paid as compensation from corporate board service by the spouse of a covered person, including the dividend reinvestment in the same security received from the corporate board service by the spouse of a covered person;
“(vi) any covered investment that is traded by the spouse of a covered person in the course of performing the primary occupation of such a spouse, provided the investment is not owned by a covered person or the spouse or dependent child of a covered person;
“(ix) an interest in a small business concern, if the supervising ethics office determines that the small business concern does not present a conflict of interest, and, in the case of an investment in a family farm or ranch that qualifies as an interest in a small business concern, a future or commodity directly related to the farming activities and products of the farm or ranch;
“(x) holding investment-grade corporate bonds, provided that the corporate bonds are held by an individual who is a covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of a covered person, on the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act;
“(xi) any share of Settlement Common Stock issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A)); or
“(xii) any share of Settlement Common Stock, as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602).
“(4) CUSTODY.—The term ‘custody’ has the meaning given the term in section 275.206(4)–2(d) of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act (or any successor regulation).
“(5) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘dependent child’ means, with respect to any covered person, any individual who is—
“(B) a dependent of the covered person within the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
“(6) DIGITAL ASSET.—The term ‘digital asset’ means any digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology.
“(7) DIVERSIFIED.—The term ‘diversified’, with respect to a fund, trust, or plan, means that the fund, trust, or plan does not have a stated policy of concentrating its investments in any single industry, business, or single country other than the United States.
“(8) FUTURE.—The term ‘future’ means—
“(A) a security future (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); and
“(9) ILLIQUID INVESTMENT.—The term ‘illiquid investment’ means an interest in a private fund, as defined in section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a)).
“(10) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘interested party’ has the meaning given the term in section 13104(f)(3)(E).
“(11) MEMBER OF CONGRESS; SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICE.—The terms ‘Member of Congress’ and ‘supervising ethics office’ have the meanings given those terms in section 13101.
“(12) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.—The term ‘qualified blind trust’ has the meaning given the term in section 13104(f)(3).
“(13) SECURITY.—The term ‘security’ has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
“(14) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning given the term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
“§ 13162. Trading covered investments
“(a) Ban on trading.—Except as provided in subsection (b)—
“(1) effective on the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, a covered person shall not purchase any covered investment;
“§ 13163. Addressing owned covered investments
“(a) Covered persons.—
“(1) DIVESTITURE.—
“(A) REQUIREMENTS.—
“(i) OFFICIALS SWORN IN BEFORE THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.—Subject to paragraph (2) and the amendments made under subsection (b), a covered person who is sworn into office on or before the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, not later than the effective date described in subsection (j)(1), subject to any extension granted under subparagraph (C)(iii) of this paragraph, shall divest each covered investment owned or in the custody of—
“(ii) OFFICIALS SWORN IN AFTER THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.—Subject to paragraph (2) and the amendments made under subsection (b), a covered person who is sworn into office after the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, not later than the effective date described in subsection (j)(2), subject to any extension granted under subparagraph (C)(iii) of this paragraph, shall divest each covered investment owned or in the custody of—
“(B) ILLIQUID INVESTMENTS.—
“(i) OFFICIALS SWORN IN BEFORE THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.—In the case of a covered person who is sworn into office on or before the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, if the covered person commences a new term of service as a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President after such date of enactment and holds an illiquid investment at that time, the covered person shall divest the illiquid investment not later than the date that is—
“(ii) OFFICIALS SWORN IN AFTER THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.—In the case of a covered person who is sworn after the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, if the covered person holds an illiquid investment on the date on which the covered person commences such term of service as a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President, the covered person shall divest the illiquid investment on the date that is—
“(C) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.—
“(i) PROHIBITION ON FUTURE QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.—Except as provided in clause (iii), on and after the date that is 180 days after the applicable effective date described in subsection (j), neither a covered person nor any spouse or dependent child of the covered person may maintain a qualified blind trust.
“(ii) MANDATORY SALE OF COVERED INVESTMENTS IN EXISTING QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.—
“(I) IN GENERAL.—The trustee of a qualified blind trust holding covered investments shall, at a time elected by the covered person, on behalf of a covered person, and in accordance with clause (iv)—
“(II) NOTICE OF COMPLIANCE.—
“(aa) NOTICE OF DIVESTITURE.—
“(AA) IN GENERAL.—Upon the completion of divestiture of all covered investments pursuant to subclause (I)(aa), the trustee shall submit to the supervising ethics office and the applicable covered person a written notice stating that the trustee has completed divestiture of all covered investments held in the qualified blind trust pursuant to subclause (I)(aa).
“(BB) PUBLICATION.—The supervising ethics office shall publish the notice required under subitem (AA) on the website of the supervising ethics office.
“(bb) NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION.—Upon the dissolution of a qualified blind trust pursuant to subclause (I)(bb), the trustee shall submit to the supervising ethics office and the applicable covered person a written notice stating that the trust has dissolved the qualified blind trust pursuant to subclause (I)(bb) and shall include a list of the assets held in the qualified blind trust on the date of the dissolution of such trust and the category of value of each such asset.
“(iii) EXTENSION OF MANDATORY SALE OF COVERED INVESTMENTS.—
“(I) REQUEST.—Each covered person who maintains a qualified blind trust established by the covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of the covered person, in any case in which the trustee of the qualified blind trust believes the size or complexity of the covered investments in the qualified blind trust warrant such extension may apply to the supervising ethics office for an extension of the period described in subparagraph (A).
“(iv) COMMUNICATIONS.—A covered person may communicate with and direct the trustee of their qualified blind trust for the purposes of—
“(I) determining when divestment of covered investments in the qualified blind trust should occur, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, clause (ii) of this subparagraph, or section 13162(b), as applicable;
“(III) whether the trustee utilizes a certificate of divestiture pursuant to section 1043(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.
“(b) Tax treatment of divestitures.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1043(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
“(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘or a covered person (as defined in section 13161 of title 5, United States Code),’ after ‘of the Federal Government,’;
“(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘or any diversified investment fund approved by regulations issued by the Office of Government Ethics’ and inserting ‘, any diversified investment fund approved by regulations issued by the Office of Government Ethics (in the case of any eligible person who is not a covered person (as defined in section 13161 of title 5, United States Code)), or any diversified mutual fund or a diversified exchange-traded fund described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 13161(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code (in the case of any eligible person who is a covered person (as so defined)).’.
“(c) Acquisitions during service.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), and any applicable rules issued pursuant to subsection (h)(3), effective beginning on the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, no covered person, or spouse or dependent child of a covered person, may acquire any covered investment.
“(2) INHERITANCES.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (B), a covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of a covered person, who inherits a covered investment shall come into compliance as required under subsection (a) by not later than 120 days after the date on which the covered investment is inherited.
“(B) EXTENSIONS.—If a covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of a covered person, is unable to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), the applicable covered person may request, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 1 or more reasonable extensions, subject to the conditions that—
“(d) Family trusts.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—A supervising ethics office may grant an exemption for a family trust only if—
“(e) Separation from service and cooling-off period required for control.—During the period beginning on the date on which an individual becomes a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President and ending on the date that is 90 days after the date on which the individual ceases to serve as a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President, the covered person, and any spouse or dependent child of the covered person, may not, except as provided in this section, otherwise control a covered investment, including purchasing new covered investments.
“(f) Reporting requirements.—
“(1) SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICES.—Each supervising ethics office shall make available on the public website of the supervising ethics office—
“(A) a copy of—
“(i) each notification submitted to the supervising ethics office in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(C)(ii)(II);
“(2) FEDERAL BENEFITS.—
“(A) COVERED PAYMENT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘covered payment’—
“(i) means a payment of money or any other item of value made, or promised to be made, by the Federal Government;
“(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of a notice of any application for, or receipt of, a covered payment by a covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of a covered person, including any business owned and controlled by the covered person, spouse, or dependent child, but in no case later than 45 days after the date on which the covered payment is made or promised to be made, the covered person shall submit to the applicable supervising ethics office a report describing the covered payment.
“(g) Enforcement.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The applicable supervising ethics office shall provide a written notice (including notice of the potential for civil penalties under paragraph (2)) to any covered person if the covered person, or the spouse or dependent child of the covered person, as applicable—
“(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event of continuing noncompliance after issuance of the notice described in paragraph (1), the supervising ethics office shall impose a civil penalty, in the amount described in subparagraph (B), on a covered person to whom a notice is provided under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)—
“(h) Duties of supervising ethics offices.—Each supervising ethics office shall—
“(2) establish such procedures and standard forms as the supervising ethics office determines to be appropriate to implement this section;
“(i) Rule of construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a covered person, or a spouse or dependent child of a covered person, from owning or trading—
“(j) Effective date.—The effective date described in this subsection is the date on which—
“(1) in the case of a covered person who is sworn into office on or before the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, or the spouse or dependent child of such a covered person, the date on which the covered person commences a new term of service as a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President after such date of enactment; or
“(2) in the case of a covered person who is sworn into office after the date of enactment of the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act, or the spouse or dependent child of such a covered person, the date on which the covered person commences such term of service as a Member of Congress, President, or Vice President.”.
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SUBCHAPTER IV—CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, THE PRESIDENT, THE VICE PRESIDENT, AND THEIR SPOUSES AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN
“13161. Definitions.
“13162. Trading covered investments
“13163. Addressing owned covered investments”.
(c) Technical and conforming amendments.—
(2) LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995.—Section 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by striking “legislative branch employee serving in a position described under section 13101(13) of title 5, United States Code” and inserting “officer or employee of Congress (as defined in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code)”.
(3) SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.—Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended—
SEC. 3. Penalty for STOCK Act noncompliance.
(a) Fines for failure to report.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The STOCK Act (Public Law 112–105; 126 Stat. 291) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 20. Fines for failure to report.
“(a) In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), a reporting individual shall be assessed a fine, pursuant to regulations issued by the applicable supervising ethics office (including the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, as applicable), of $500 in each case in which the reporting individual fails to file a transaction report required under this Act or an amendment made by this Act.
(b) Rules, regulations, guidance, and documents.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each supervising ethics office (as defined in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code) (including the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, as applicable) shall amend the rules, regulations, guidance, documents, papers, and other records of the supervising ethics office in accordance with the amendment made by this section.
SEC. 4. Electronic filing and online public availability of financial disclosure forms.
(a) Members of Congress and congressional staff.—Section 8(b)(1) of the STOCK Act (5 U.S.C. 13107 note) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, pursuant to subchapter I of chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, through databases maintained on the official websites of the House of Representatives and the Senate” after “enable”; and
(2) by striking subparagraph (B) and the undesignated matter following that subparagraph and inserting the following:
“(B) public access—
“(i) to each—
“(II) transaction disclosure report filed by a Member of Congress or a candidate for Congress pursuant to section 13105(l); and
“(III) notice of extension, amendment, or blind trust, with respect to a report described in subclause (I) or (II), pursuant to subchapter I of chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code; and
“(ii) in a manner that—
“(I) allows the public to search, sort, and download data contained in the reports described in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) by criteria required to be reported, including by filer name, asset, transaction type, ticker symbol, notification date, amount of transaction, and date of transaction;
“(III) is fully compliant with—
“(aa) section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d); and
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and of the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the remaining provisions of this Act and amendments to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
Calendar No. 294 | |||||
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A BILL | |||||
To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to prohibit transactions involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress. | |||||
December 10, 2025 | |||||
Reported with an amendment |