WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) cosponsored the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would prohibit Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks and mandate a seven-day public notice period before any stock sales can be executed:

“Members of Congress using information not available to the public in order to profit from buying and selling stocks harms everyday Americans’ trust in government,”said Sen. Cornyn.“This legislation will bring greater transparency and accountability to Washington for the American people, and I’m grateful to Senator Ricketts for leading this effort.”

U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) is leading the legislation in the Senate. Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jon Husted (R-OH), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Todd Young (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Jim Risch (R-ID) are cosponsors of the legislation.

Background:

The Stop Insider Trading Act would:

• Prohibit Members, spouses, and dependent children from purchasing any new stocks in publicly traded companies;
• Require public notice at least seven days, but no more than 14 days, in advance of any intended sale;
• And establish a penalty of $2,000 or 10% of the investment value (whichever is greater), plus the forfeiture of any net gain realized from the sale.