Senate Democrats Block 53-47 Stock-Trading Bill as G.O.P. Adds Voter ID
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Senate Democrats Block 53-47 Stock-Trading Bill as G.O.P. Adds Voter ID
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Summary
A 53-47 party-line Senate vote killed the Stop Insider Trading Act, denying Republicans a pre-midterm victory on a politically potent ethics issue.
The House-passed bill barred lawmakers from buying individual stocks but still let current holdings be traded, allowed spouses and relatives to trade freely, and excluded the president and vice president.
Democrats said the measure was doomed not just by the attached voter ID restrictions—rejected by the Senate six times—but also because it fell short of the outright congressional trading ban voters want.
Chuck Schumer called the proposal "toothless" and said it would not stop President Trump, whom he said made 30,000 stock trades in the past year, underscoring how both parties see the issue as an election-year liability.