Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has filed a “discharge petition” to force a vote on a bill that would ban members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks.
If it gets the necessary 218 signatures, the petition would force House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring a stock-ban bill to the floor for a vote.
The discharge petition moves to force a vote on a bill that would “prohibit stock trading and ownership by Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children, and for other purposes.” The petition specifically calls for the consideration the Restore Trust in Congress Act — a measure that supportive lawmakers lauded as a bipartisan compromise.
“We have decided because of a lack of movement from the House of Representatives to initiate the discharge petition on banning insider training,” Luna, a Florida Republican, said in a video posted to X. “Now, if leadership wants to put forward a bill that would actually do that and end the corruption, we’d be all for that, but we’re tired of the partisan games.”
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In the same video, Burchett, a vocal stock-ban supporter, called Congress “broken.”
Reps. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, and Seth Magaziner, a Rhode Island Democrat, said in a joint statement that “the clock is now running.”
“If leadership does not move quickly to put forward a strong ban on congressional stock trading, the members of the body will act,” Roy and Magaziner, two leaders on negotiations in the bipartisan bill, said.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Rep. Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee, declined to comment.
Pressure on Johnson to conduct a vote has been mounting for weeks. Luna was dissatisfied with a stock-ban hearing last month before the House Administration Committee, which she said was “for show.” The discharge petition, which must contain the signatures of a majority of members of the House, would effectively leapfrog both the committee and Johnson.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, said she would be signing on to the discharge petition and called it “absolutely unconscionable that a bill banning Members of Congress from trading individual stocks needs a discharge petition just to get a vote on the House Floor.”
Luna’s discharge petition announcement coincides with 90 former members of Congress demanding Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pass a bill to “eliminate the persistent appearance of insider trading among members of Congress.”
The letter, first reported by OpenSecrets, cites a University of Maryland study that found 86% of Americans support a congressional stock ban. Supporters say stock trading by lawmakers and their families undermines trust in Congress, which often has access to information before the public.
Some lawmakers have pushed back on efforts to ban congressional stock trading — one of the few ways members of Congress can make money beyond their annual government salaries. Standard congressional salaries, $174,000, have been frozen since 2009. Save for writing books and part-time teaching jobs, outside employment and income are strictly limited for members of Congress.
The bipartisan coalition worked to address some of the concerns of their colleagues, including the tax implications of selling, for some, millions of dollars in stocks. Members of Congress and their families can defer their tax payment if they reinvest in a mutual fund, and the bill carves out exemptions for small businesses.
In July, the U.S. Senate passed its own version of a stock-ban bill out of committee. It has yet to receive a vote on the Senate floor.
This year alone, numerous members of Congress have violated disclosure provisions of the existing Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.
STOCK Act violators include Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Dwight Evans, Jamie Raskin, Chellie Pingree, Shri Thanedar, George Whitesides, Ritchie Torres, Jonathan Jackson, Donald Norcross, Tom Suozzi, George Latimer, Val Hoyle, Jared Huffman and Pat Ryan.
Among Republicans: Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Reps. Dan Meuser, Lisa McClain, Austin Scott, Neal Dunn, Scott Franklin, Brandon Gill, Hal Rogers, Tim Moore, Troy Nehls, Rich McCormick and Sheri Biggs.
Dozens of other federal lawmakers have violated the STOCK Act in recent years.
This story has been updated to include additional details about the stock-ban bill discharge petition.
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