I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1579 

To prohibit Members of Congress from purchasing or selling certain 

investments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2021 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 

GAETZ, Mr. CLOUD, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. JONES, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. POCAN, Ms. 

SPEIER, and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the 

Committees on Agriculture, and House Administration, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit Members of Congress from purchasing or selling 

certain investments, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ban Conflicted Trad5 ing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘commodity’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term in section 1a of the Commodity Ex3 change Act (7 U.S.C. 1a); 

4 (2) the term ‘‘covered investment’’— 

5 (A) means investment in a security, a com6 modity, or a future, or any comparable eco7 nomic interest acquired through synthetic 

8 means such as the use of a derivative; and 

9 (B) does not include— 

10 (i) a widely held investment fund de11 scribed in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics 

12 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

13 App.); or 

14 (ii) a United States Treasury bill, 

15 note, or bond; 

16 (3) the term ‘‘covered person’’ means— 

17 (A) a sitting Member of Congress; and 

18 (B) an individual employed as an officer or 

19 employee of Congress required to file a report 

20 under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

21 U.S.C. App.); 

22 (4) the term ‘‘future’’ means a financial con23 tract obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or 

24 the seller to sell an asset, such as a physical comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1579.IH H1579

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1 modity or a financial instrument, at a predetermined 

2 future date and price; and 

3 (5) the term ‘‘security’’ has the meaning given 

4 the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange 

5 Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 

6 SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS. 

7 (a) TRANSACTIONS.—Except as provided in sections 

8 4 and 5, no covered person may— 

9 (1) purchase or sell any covered investment; or 

10 (2) enter into a transaction that creates a net 

11 short position in any security. 

12 (b) POSITIONS.—A covered person may not serve as 

13 an officer or member of any board of any for-profit asso14 ciation, corporation, or other entity. 

15 SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS. 

16 (a) INVESTMENTS HELD BEFORE TAKING OF17 FICE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered person may have 

19 control over or knowledge of the management of any 

20 covered investment held by the covered person as of 

21 the day before the date on which the covered person 

22 took office. 

23 (2) PROHIBITION ON PURCHASING OR SELL24 ING.—A covered person may not buy or sell any inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1579.IH H1579

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1 vestment described in paragraph (1) except in the 

2 case of— 

3 (A) placing the investment in a qualified 

4 blind trust described in section 5; or 

5 (B) divesting themselves of any investment 

6 under subsection (b). 

7 (b) DIVESTITURE.—A covered person may sell a cov8 ered investment during the 6-month period beginning 

9 on— 

10 (1) the date on which the covered person takes 

11 office or begins employment, as applicable; or 

12 (2) the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 5. TRUSTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—On a case-by-case basis, the Se15 lect Committee on Ethics may authorize a covered person 

16 to place their securities holdings in a qualified blind trust 

17 approved by the committee under section 102(f) of the 

18 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

19 (b) BLIND TRUST.—A blind trust permitted under 

20 this subsection shall meet the criteria in section 

21 102(f)(4)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

22 U.S.C. App.), unless an alternative arrangement is ap23 proved by the Select Committee on Ethics. 

24 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

25 (a) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this Act 

2 shall be administered by the Select Committee on 

3 Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 (2) GUIDANCE.—The Select Committee on Eth6 ics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of 

7 the House of Representatives are authorized to issue 

8 guidance on any matter contained in this Act, in9 cluding— 

10 (A) whether a covered person may hold an 

11 employee stock option, or similar instrument, 

12 that had not vested before the date on which 

13 the covered person was elected; and 

14 (B) the process and timeline for when a 

15 covered person shall no longer serve as an offi16 cer or member of any board of any for-profit 

17 association, corporation, or other entity. 

18 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Whoever knowingly fails to 

19 comply with this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty 

20 of not less than 10 percent of the value of the covered 

21 investment that was purchased or sold or the security in 

22 which a net short position was created in violation of this 

23 Act, as applicable. 

Æ 


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