I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2277 

To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit Members of 

Congress from receiving a discounted price in certain private offerings 

of securities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2017 

Ms. SLAUGHTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit 

Members of Congress from receiving a discounted price 

in certain private offerings of securities. 

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 ‘‘End Congressional 

5 Stock Market Abuse Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PARTICIPATION IN SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS BY 

7 PUBLIC OFFICIALS. 

8 Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

9 (15 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘(within the 

2 meaning given such term in section 12(f)(1)(G)(i))’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘on a United States or foreign securi4 ties exchange’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(j) PARTICIPATION IN SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS

7 BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered security’— 

10 ‘‘(i) means any security that is regu11 larly traded on a United States or foreign 

12 securities exchange; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) includes any comparable eco14 nomic interest acquired through synthetic 

15 means such as the use of a derivative or 

16 short selling any publicly traded security; 

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘price’— 

18 ‘‘(i) means— 

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of a purchase, 

20 the national best offer, as defined in 

21 section 242.600(c) of title 17, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations; 

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of a sale, the 

24 national best bid, as defined in section 


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1 242.600(c) of title 17, Code of Fed2 eral Regulations; or 

3 ‘‘(III) any other value, as deter4 mined by the Commission; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) does not include any commission 

6 or fee paid to a broker or third party; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the term ‘United States or foreign se8 curities exchange’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) a national exchange described in 

10 section 6; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a designated offshore securities 

12 market, as defined in section 230.92 of 

13 title 17, Code of Federal Regulations. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), a Member of Congress may 

17 not— 

18 ‘‘(i) purchase a covered security for 

19 less than the price available on a United 

20 States or foreign exchange; 

21 ‘‘(ii) sell a covered security for more 

22 than the price available on a United States 

23 or foreign exchange; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) purchase a private placement of2 fering of a covered security available on a 

3 United States or foreign exchange. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

5 shall not apply if a Member of Congress reason6 ably believes that— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a purchase of a 

8 covered security, the discount was obtained 

9 in a manner generally available to the pub10 lic; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a sale of a covered 

12 security, the premium was obtained in a 

13 manner generally available to the public.’’. 

Æ 


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