II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1171 

To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to prevent Members 

of Congress and their spouses and dependent children from trading 

stocks and owning stocks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 17, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. KING, Mr. 

SANDERS, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

TESTER, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to 

prevent Members of Congress and their spouses and 

dependent children from trading stocks and owning 

stocks, 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 ‘‘Ending Trading and 

5 Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act’’. 


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•S 1171 IS

1 SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF 

2 CONGRESS AND THEIR SPOUSES AND DE3 PENDENT CHILDREN IN QUALIFIED BLIND 

4 TRUSTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 131 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘Subchapter IV—Certain Assets of Members 

9 of Congress and Their Spouses and De10 pendent Children 

11 ‘‘§ 13161. Definitions 

12 ‘‘In this title: 

13 ‘‘(1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘commodity’ has 

14 the meaning given the term in section 1a of the 

15 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 

16 ‘‘(2) COVERED INVESTMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered in18 vestment’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) an investment in— 

20 ‘‘(I) a security; 

21 ‘‘(II) a commodity; or 

22 ‘‘(III) a future; 

23 ‘‘(ii) any economic interest com24 parable to an interest described in clause 

25 (i) that is acquired through synthetic 

26 means, such as the use of a derivative, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 cluding an option, warrant, or other, simi2 lar means; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) any interest described in clause 

4 (i) or (ii) that is held directly, or in which 

5 an individual has an indirect, beneficial, or 

6 economic interest, through— 

7 ‘‘(I) an investment fund or hold8 ing company; 

9 ‘‘(II) a trust (other than a quali10 fied blind trust); 

11 ‘‘(III) an employee benefit plan; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(IV) a deferred compensation 

14 plan, including a carried interest or 

15 other agreement tied to the perform16 ance of an investment, other than a 

17 fixed cash payment. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered in19 vestment’ does not include— 

20 ‘‘(i) a diversified mutual fund (includ21 ing any holdings of such a fund); 

22 ‘‘(ii) a diversified exchange-traded 

23 fund (including any holdings of such a 

24 fund); 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) a United States Treasury bill, 

2 note, or bond; 

3 ‘‘(iv) compensation from the primary 

4 occupation of the spouse of a Member of 

5 Congress, or any security that is issued or 

6 paid by an operating business that is the 

7 primary employer of such a spouse that is 

8 issued or paid to such a spouse; 

9 ‘‘(v) holding and acquiring any secu10 rity that is issued or paid as compensation 

11 from corporate board service by the spouse 

12 of a Member of Congress, including the 

13 dividend reinvestment in the same security 

14 received from the corporate board service 

15 by the spouse of a Member of Congress; 

16 ‘‘(vi) any covered investment that is 

17 traded by the spouse of a Member of Con18 gress in the course of performing the pri19 mary occupation of such a spouse, pro20 vided the investment is not owned by a 

21 covered person; 

22 ‘‘(vii) any investment fund held in a 

23 Federal, State, or local government em24 ployee retirement plan; 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(viii) a tax-free State or municipal 

2 bond; 

3 ‘‘(ix) an interest in a small business 

4 concern, if the supervising ethics office de5 termines that the small business concern 

6 does not present a conflict of interest, and, 

7 in the case of an investment in a family 

8 farm or ranch that qualifies as an interest 

9 in a small business concern, a future or 

10 commodity directly related to the farming 

11 activities and products of the farm or 

12 ranch; 

13 ‘‘(x) holding investment-grade cor14 porate bonds, provided that the corporate 

15 bonds are held by an individual who is a 

16 covered person on the date of enactment of 

17 the Ending Trading and Holdings In Con18 gressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act; 

19 ‘‘(xi) any share of Settlement Com20 mon Stock issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) 

21 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

22 Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A)); or 

23 ‘‘(xii) any share of Settlement Com24 mon Stock, as defined in section 3 of the 


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•S 1171 IS

1 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

2 U.S.C. 1602). 

3 ‘‘(3) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘covered 

4 person’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a Member of Congress; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a spouse or dependent child of a 

7 Member of Congress. 

8 ‘‘(4) CUSTODY.—The term ‘custody’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 275.206(4)–2(d) 

10 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

11 on the date of enactment of the Ending Trading and 

12 Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act or 

13 a successor regulation). 

14 ‘‘(5) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘depend15 ent child’ means, with respect to any Member of 

16 Congress any individual who is— 

17 ‘‘(A) under the age of 19; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a dependent of the Member of Con19 gress within the meaning of section 152 of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(6) DIVERSIFIED.—The term ‘diversified’, 

22 with respect to a fund, trust, or plan, means that 

23 the fund, trust, or plan does not have a stated policy 

24 of concentrating its investments in any industry, 


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•S 1171 IS

1 business, or single country other than the United 

2 States. 

3 ‘‘(7) FUTURE.—The term ‘future’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) a security future (as defined in sec5 tion 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

6 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); and 

7 ‘‘(B) any other contract for the sale of a 

8 commodity for future delivery. 

9 ‘‘(8) ILLIQUID INVESTMENT.—The term ‘il10 liquid investment’ means an interest in a private 

11 fund, as defined in section 202(a)(29) of the Invest12 ment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2). 

13 ‘‘(9) INITIAL PROPERTY.—The term ‘initial 

14 property’ means an asset or financial interest trans15 ferred to a qualified blind trust by, or on behalf of, 

16 an interested party or a relative of an interested 

17 party, regardless of whether the asset or financial 

18 interest is transferred to the qualified blind trust on 

19 or after the date of establishment of the qualified 

20 blind trust. 

21 ‘‘(10) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘inter22 ested party’ has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 13104(f)(3)(E). 

24 ‘‘(11) MEMBER OF CONGRESS; SUPERVISING

25 ETHICS OFFICE.—The terms ‘Member of Congress’ 


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•S 1171 IS

1 and ‘supervising ethics office’ have the meaning 

2 given those terms in section 13101. 

3 ‘‘(12) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.—The term 

4 ‘qualified blind trust’ means a qualified blind trust 

5 (as defined in section 13104(f)(3)) that has been ap6 proved in writing by the applicable supervising ethics 

7 office under section 13104(f)(3)(D). 

8 ‘‘(13) SECURITY.—The term ‘security’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Secu10 rities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 

11 ‘‘(14) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 

12 ‘small business concern’ has the meaning given the 

13 term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 632). 

15 ‘‘§ 13162. Trading covered investments 

16 ‘‘(a) BAN ON TRADING.—Except as provided in sub17 sections (b) and (c)— 

18 ‘‘(1) effective on the date of enactment of the 

19 Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional 

20 Stocks (ETHICS) Act, a Member of Congress shall 

21 not purchase any covered investment; 

22 ‘‘(2) effective on the date that is 90 days after 

23 the date of enactment of the Ending Trading and 

24 Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, a 

25 Member of Congress shall not sell any covered inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 vestment, except as provided in section 13163(a)(2); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(3) on and after the effective date described in 

4 section 13163(k), a covered person that is a spouse 

5 or dependent child of a Member of Congress shall 

6 not purchase any covered investment or sell any cov7 ered investment, except as provided in section 

8 13163(a)(2). 

9 ‘‘(b) OPTIONAL DIVESTMENT WINDOW.—Notwith10 standing subsection (a)— 

11 ‘‘(1) a Member of Congress who is sworn as a 

12 Member of Congress on or before the date of enact13 ment of the Ending Trading and Holdings In Con14 gressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act may sell a covered 

15 investment within 90 days of the date of enactment 

16 of such act, provided that the Member of Congress 

17 may not sell any covered investment at any time out18 side of that period while the Member of Congress 

19 serves the term for which the Member of Congress 

20 was elected or is reelected or appointed as a Member 

21 of Congress except as provided in section 

22 13163(a)(2); and 

23 ‘‘(2) a Member of Congress who is sworn as a 

24 Member of Congress after the date of enactment of 

25 the Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional 


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•S 1171 IS

1 Stocks (ETHICS) Act may sell a covered investment 

2 within 90 days of commencing the term of service as 

3 a Member of Congress, provided that the Member of 

4 Congress may not sell any covered investment at any 

5 time outside of that period while the Member of 

6 Congress serves the term for which the Member of 

7 Congress was elected or is reelected or appointed as 

8 a Member of Congress except as provided in section 

9 13163(a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 

11 covered person may divest a covered investment as di12 rected by the relevant supervising ethics office pursuant 

13 to this Act. 

14 ‘‘(d) JOINT COVERED INVESTMENT.—Any covered 

15 investment reported to the supervising ethics office as 

16 jointly owned by a Member of Congress and the spouse 

17 of the Member of Congress shall be deemed to be a covered 

18 investment of the Member of Congress for purposes of this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘§ 13163. Addressing owned covered investments 

21 ‘‘(a) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days 

23 after the applicable effective date described in sub24 section (j), a Member of Congress shall submit to 

25 the supervising ethics office a certification, which 


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•S 1171 IS

1 the supervising ethics office shall publish online that 

2 certifies that— 

3 ‘‘(A) each covered investment owned by, or 

4 in the custody of, the Member of Congress, or 

5 a spouse or dependent child of the Member of 

6 Congress, will, by the applicable deadline under 

7 paragraph (2), be— 

8 ‘‘(i) divested, as described in para9 graph (2)(B); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) placed in a qualified blind trust, 

11 including through the establishment of a 

12 qualified blind trust for that purpose, if 

13 necessary, as described in paragraph 

14 (2)(A); and 

15 ‘‘(B) no spouse or dependent child of the 

16 Member of Congress owns, or has custody of, 

17 covered investments with a cumulative amount 

18 equal to more than $10,000, in accordance with 

19 paragraph (6). 

20 ‘‘(2) DIVESTITURE OR PLACEMENT IN QUALI21 FIED BLIND TRUST.— 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to para23 graphs (3) and (6) and subsection (b)(2), not 

24 later than 120 days after the applicable effec25 tive date described in subsection (j), a Member 


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•S 1171 IS

1 of Congress shall divest, or place in a qualified 

2 blind trust (including by establishing a qualified 

3 blind trust for that purpose, if necessary), each 

4 covered investment owned or in the custody 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Member of Congress; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a spouse or dependent child of 

8 the Member of Congress. 

9 ‘‘(B) DIVESTITURE.—A covered person 

10 shall divest any covered investment owned by or 

11 in the custody of the covered person that is not 

12 placed in a qualified blind trust not later than 

13 the date described in subparagraph (A), subject 

14 to any extension granted under paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) MANDATORY SALE OF INITIAL

17 PROPERTY IN QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

19 clause (ii), if a covered person places, 

20 or has placed before the applicable ef21 fective date described in subsection 

22 (j), 1 or more covered investments in 

23 a qualified blind trust, the trustee of 

24 the qualified blind trust shall divest 

25 any such covered investment not later 


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•S 1171 IS

1 than the date specified in subclause 

2 (II). 

3 ‘‘(II) DEADLINE.—The date 

4 specified in this subclause is— 

5 ‘‘(aa) with respect to a cov6 ered investment placed in a quali7 fied blind trust before the appli8 cable effective date described in 

9 subsection (j), 120 days after 

10 such applicable effective date; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) with respect to a cov13 ered investment placed in a quali14 fied blind trust on or after the 

15 applicable effective date described 

16 in subsection (j), 120 days after 

17 the date of creation of the quali18 fied blind trust, as dated by the 

19 executed qualified blind trust 

20 agreement. 

21 ‘‘(III) NOTICE OF COMPLI22 ANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Sub24 ject to item (bb), upon comple25 tion of the divestiture of all iniVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 tial property pursuant to sub2 clause (I)— 

3 ‘‘(AA) the trustee of a 

4 qualified blind trust shall 

5 submit to the supervising 

6 ethics office and each bene7 ficiary of the trust a written 

8 notice stating that all initial 

9 property of the qualified 

10 blind trust has been di11 vested; and 

12 ‘‘(BB) the supervising 

13 ethics office shall publish the 

14 notice described in subitem 

15 (AA) on the website of the 

16 supervising ethics office. 

17 ‘‘(bb) CONTENTS.—Each 

18 notice described in item 

19 (aa)(AA)— 

20 ‘‘(AA) shall only iden21 tify the initial property gen22 erally by referring to the 

23 complete list of assets de24 scribed in section 

25 13104(f)(5)(A)(ii); and 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(BB) may not contain 

2 any other information relat3 ing to any holding of the 

4 qualified blind trust or the 

5 timing of any divestiture. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF MANDATORY

7 SALE OF INITIAL PROPERTY.— 

8 ‘‘(I) REQUEST.—A covered per9 son may apply to the supervising eth10 ics office for an extension of the pe11 riod described in clause (i)(I) if the 

12 size or complexity of the covered in13 vestments in the qualified blind trust 

14 warrant such extension. 

15 ‘‘(II) DURATION.—An extension 

16 granted under subclause (I) shall not 

17 exceed 90 days. 

18 ‘‘(D) ILLIQUID INVESTMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) SALE.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date on which a covered person is 

21 contractually permitted to sell an illiquid 

22 investment, the covered person shall divest 

23 the illiquid investment. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION.—A covered person 

25 may not place an illiquid investment in any 


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•S 1171 IS

1 qualified blind trust under subparagraph 

2 (A). 

3 ‘‘(E) TRUSTEES.—A trustee of a qualified 

4 blind trust— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall be required to be a financial 

6 institution, as defined in section 1a of the 

7 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) except for a financial institution, 

10 may not be— 

11 ‘‘(I) an attorney; 

12 ‘‘(II) a certified public account13 ant; 

14 ‘‘(III) a broker, as defined in sec15 tion 3(a) of the Securities Exchange 

16 Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); or 

17 ‘‘(IV) an investment advisor. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION OF ASSETS BEING PLACED IN

19 QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.—If a covered person is 

20 unable to place a covered investment in a qualified 

21 blind trust by the date described in paragraph 

22 (2)(A), the applicable Member of Congress may re23 quest, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 

24 1 or more reasonable extensions, subject to the con25 ditions that— 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the total period of time covered by all 

2 extensions granted for the covered investment 

3 shall not exceed 150 days; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the period covered by a single exten5 sion shall be not longer than 45 days. 

6 ‘‘(4) COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING EXISTING

7 QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any direct or indirect 

9 communication relating to a qualified blind 

10 trust in existence on the applicable effective 

11 date described in subsection (j) between a trust12 ee of the qualified blind trust and an interested 

13 party shall be permissible for purposes of this 

14 title if the communication— 

15 ‘‘(i)(I) is made— 

16 ‘‘(aa) in writing; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) not later than 60 days 

18 after that effective date; 

19 ‘‘(II) is filed with the applicable su20 pervising ethics office by the person initi21 ating the communication not less than 5 

22 days before the date of the communication; 

23 ‘‘(III) relates to a direction or request 

24 to the trustee— 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(aa) to sell all initial property 

2 placed in the qualified blind trust by 

3 any interested party; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) to convert all of an asset in 

5 the qualified blind trust into an in6 vestment other than a covered invest7 ment; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) is otherwise permitted under sec9 tion 13104(f)(3)(C)(vi). 

10 ‘‘(5) COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN COVERED

11 PERSONS AND TRUSTEES RELATING TO ALL QUALI12 FIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—A trustee of a quali14 fied blind trust shall not notify a covered person 

15 if— 

16 ‘‘(i) the value of the initial property of 

17 the qualified blind trust is less than 

18 $1,000; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the trustee divests any property 

20 of the qualified blind trust, other than the 

21 initial property required to be divested pur22 suant to paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(B) COMMUNICATION.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any communica25 tion between a covered person and the 


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•S 1171 IS

1 trustee of the relevant qualified blind 

2 trust— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall be in writing; and 

4 ‘‘(II) submitted and approved in 

5 advance of the communication by the 

6 supervising ethics office. 

7 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION.—A communica8 tion described in clause (i) may not include 

9 any information relating to the manner in 

10 which funds of the qualified blind trust are 

11 invested, including any information relat12 ing to— 

13 ‘‘(I) any company in which the 

14 funds are invested; or 

15 ‘‘(II) any sector in which the 

16 funds are invested. 

17 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTION FOR DEPENDENTS.—A cov18 ered person who is a dependent child of a Member 

19 of Congress may have a legal guardian hold or trade 

20 on behalf of the dependent child 1 or more covered 

21 investments provided that the value of the covered 

22 investments in total does not exceed $10,000. 

23 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITIONS DURING SERVICE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

25 and any applicable rules issued pursuant to subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 section (h)(3), effective beginning on the date of en2 actment of the Ending Trading and Holdings In 

3 Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, no covered 

4 person may acquire any covered investment. 

5 ‘‘(2) INHERITANCES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graph (B), a covered person who inherits a cov8 ered investment shall come into compliance as 

9 required under subsection (a) by not later than 

10 120 days after the date on which the covered 

11 investment is inherited. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—If a covered person is 

13 unable to meet the requirements of subpara14 graph (A), the applicable Member of Congress 

15 may request, and the supervising ethics office 

16 may grant, 1 or more reasonable extensions, 

17 subject to the conditions that— 

18 ‘‘(i) the total period of time covered 

19 by all extensions granted for the covered 

20 investment shall not exceed 150 days; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the period covered by a single ex22 tension shall be not longer than 45 days. 

23 ‘‘(c) FAMILY TRUSTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A supervising ethics office 

25 may grant an exemption for a family trust only if— 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(A) no covered person— 

2 ‘‘(i) is a grantor of the family trust; 

3 ‘‘(ii) contributed any asset to the fam4 ily trust; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) has any authority over a trustee 

6 of the family trust, including the authority 

7 to appoint, replace, or direct the actions of 

8 such a trustee; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the grantor of the family trust is or 

10 was a family member of the covered person. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS.—A covered person seeking an 

12 exemption under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 

13 applicable supervising ethics office a request for the 

14 exemption, in writing, certifying that the conditions 

15 described in that paragraph are met. 

16 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—A supervising ethics office 

17 shall publish on the public website of the supervising 

18 ethics office— 

19 ‘‘(A) a copy of each request submitted 

20 under paragraph (2); and 

21 ‘‘(B) the written response of the super22 vising ethics office to each request described in 

23 subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(d) MINGLING OF ASSETS.—A spouse or dependent 

25 child of a Member of Congress may place a covered investVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 ment in a qualified blind trust established by the Member 

2 of Congress under subsection (a)(2)(A)(i). 

3 ‘‘(e) SEPARATION FROM SERVICE AND COOLING-OFF

4 PERIOD REQUIRED FOR CONTROL.—During the period 

5 beginning on the date on which an individual becomes a 

6 Member of Congress and ending on the date that is 90 

7 days after the date on which the individual ceases to serve 

8 as a Member of Congress, the Member of Congress, and 

9 any spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, 

10 may not— 

11 ‘‘(1) dissolve any qualified blind trust in which 

12 a covered investment has been placed pursuant to 

13 subsection (a)(2); or 

14 ‘‘(2) except as provided in this section, other15 wise control a covered investment, including pur16 chasing new covered investments. 

17 ‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICES.—Each su19 pervising ethics office shall make available on the 

20 public website of the supervising ethics office— 

21 ‘‘(A) a copy of— 

22 ‘‘(i) each certification submitted to 

23 the supervising ethics office under sub24 section (a)(1); 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) each qualified blind trust agree2 ment of each covered person; 

3 ‘‘(iii) each notice and other docu4 mentation submitted to the supervising 

5 ethics office under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) each notice, ruling, and other 

7 documentation issued or received by the 

8 supervising ethics office under subsection 

9 (c); 

10 ‘‘(B) a schedule of all assets placed in a 

11 qualified blind trust by each covered person and 

12 interested party; and 

13 ‘‘(C) a description of each extension grant14 ed, and each civil penalty imposed, pursuant to 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) TRUSTEES.—Each trustee of a qualified 

17 blind trust established by a covered person shall sub18 mit to the covered person and the applicable super19 vising ethics office a written notice in any case in 

20 which the trustee learns that an interested party has 

21 obtained knowledge of any trust property other than 

22 the initial property of the qualified blind trust. 

23 ‘‘(3) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—Each Member of 

24 Congress who is a beneficiary of a qualified blind 


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•S 1171 IS

1 trust shall submit to the applicable supervising eth2 ics office— 

3 ‘‘(A) a copy of the executed qualified blind 

4 trust agreement by not later than 30 days after 

5 the date of execution; 

6 ‘‘(B) a list of each asset and each financial 

7 interest transferred to the qualified blind trust 

8 by an interested party by not later than 30 

9 days after the date of the transfer; 

10 ‘‘(C) a copy of each notice submitted to the 

11 Member of Congress under paragraph (2) by 

12 not later than 30 days after the date of receipt; 

13 ‘‘(D) a written notice that an interested 

14 party has obtained knowledge of any holding of 

15 the qualified blind trust by not later than the 

16 date that is 30 days after the date on which the 

17 Member of Congress discovered that the knowl18 edge had been obtained; and 

19 ‘‘(E) a written notice of dissolution of the 

20 qualified blind trust by not later than 30 days 

21 after the date of dissolution. 

22 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL BENEFITS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) COVERED PAYMENT.—In this para24 graph, the term ‘covered payment’— 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(i) means a payment of money or 

2 any other item of value made, or promised 

3 to be made, by the Federal Government; 

4 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

5 ‘‘(I) a loan agreement, contract, 

6 or grant made, or promised to be 

7 made, by the Federal Government, in8 cluding such an agreement, contract, 

9 or grant relating to agricultural activ10 ity; and 

11 ‘‘(II) such other types of pay12 ment of money or items of value as 

13 the supervising ethics office may es14 tablish, by guidance; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) does not include— 

16 ‘‘(I) any salary or compensation 

17 for service performed as, or reim18 bursement of personal outlay by, an 

19 officer or employee of the Federal 

20 Government; or 

21 ‘‘(II) any tax refund (including a 

22 refundable tax credit). 

23 ‘‘(B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not 

24 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of 

25 a notice of any application for, or receipt of, a 


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•S 1171 IS

1 covered payment by a covered person (including 

2 any business owned and controlled by the cov3 ered person), but in no case later than 45 days 

4 after the date on which the covered payment is 

5 made or promised to be made, the covered per6 son shall submit to the applicable supervising 

7 ethics office a report describing the covered 

8 payment. 

9 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DIVESTITURE OR PLACEMENT IN QUALI11 FIED BLIND TRUST.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicable super13 vising ethics office shall provide a written notice 

14 (including notice of the potential for civil pen15 alties under subparagraph (B)) to any Member 

16 of Congress if the Member of Congress, or 

17 spouse or dependent child of the Member of 

18 Congress— 

19 ‘‘(i) fails to submit a certification 

20 under subsection (a)(1) by the date on 

21 which the certification is required to be 

22 submitted; 

23 ‘‘(ii) fails to divest or place in a quali24 fied blind trust a covered investment 

25 owned by, or in the custody of the covered 


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•S 1171 IS

1 person, in accordance with subsection 

2 (a)(2), subject to any extension under sub3 section (a)(3); or 

4 ‘‘(iii) acquires an interest in a covered 

5 investment in violation of this section. 

6 ‘‘(B) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event of 

8 continuing noncompliance after issuance of 

9 the notice described in subparagraph (A), 

10 the supervising ethics office shall impose a 

11 civil penalty, in the amount described in 

12 clause (ii), on a Member of Congress to 

13 whom a notice is provided under clause (i) 

14 or (ii) of subparagraph (A)— 

15 ‘‘(I) on the date that is 30 days 

16 after the date of provision of the no17 tice; and 

18 ‘‘(II) during the period in which 

19 such noncompliance continues, not 

20 less frequently than once every 30 

21 days thereafter. 

22 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of each 

23 civil penalty imposed on a Member of Con24 gress pursuant to clause (i) shall be equal 

25 to the greater of— 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the monthly equivalent of 

2 the annual rate of pay payable to the 

3 Member of Congress; and 

4 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 10 per5 cent of the value of each covered in6 vestment that was not divested or 

7 placed into a qualified blind trust in 

8 violation of this section during the pe9 riod covered by the penalty. 

10 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATIONS.—The Attorney General 

11 of the United States shall file a civil action seeking 

12 to impose a civil penalty on any covered person or 

13 trustee of a qualified blind trust who violates sub14 section (a)(4), or otherwise discloses the contents of 

15 a qualified blind trust to any unauthorized indi16 vidual, equal to the greater of— 

17 ‘‘(A) $10,000 per each communication; or 

18 ‘‘(B) 1 percent of the value of the qualified 

19 blind trust on the date of the violation. 

20 ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF SUPERVISING ETHICS OFFICES.— 

21 Each supervising ethics office in the legislative branch 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) impose and collect civil penalties in accord24 ance with subsection (g); 


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•S 1171 IS

1 ‘‘(2) establish such procedures and standard 

2 forms as the supervising ethics office determines to 

3 be appropriate to implement this section; 

4 ‘‘(3) issue such rules and guidelines as the su5 pervising ethics office determines to be appropriate 

6 for the implementation and application of this title; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(4) publish on a website all documents and 

9 communications described in this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed to prevent a covered person from 

12 owning or trading— 

13 ‘‘(1) a diversified mutual fund; or 

14 ‘‘(2) a publicly traded, diversified exchange 

15 traded fund. 

16 ‘‘(j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to 

17 each covered person beginning on the date on which the 

18 covered person (or with respect to a covered person that 

19 is a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress, 

20 the date on which that Member of Congress) commences 

21 the first new term of service as a Member of Congress 

22 on or after January 31, 2023.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

24 for chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 


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•S 1171 IS

‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND THEIR

SPOUSES AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN

‘‘13161. Definitions. 

‘‘13162. Trading covered investments 

‘‘13163. Addressing owned covered investments’’. 

1 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) TITLE 5.—Title 5, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in section 13103(f)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘as 

6 defined in section 13101 of this title’’; 

7 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘as 

8 defined in section 13101 of this title’’; 

9 (iii) in paragraph (11), by striking 

10 ‘‘as defined in section 13101 of this title’’; 

11 and 

12 (iv) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘as 

13 defined in section 13101 of this title’’; and 

14 (B) in section 13122(f)(2)(B)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘Subject to clause (iv) 

16 of this subparagraph, before’’ each place it 

17 appears and inserting ‘‘Before’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking clause (iv). 

19 (2) LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995.—Sec20 tion 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 

21 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘leg22 islative branch employee serving in a position deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1171.IS S1171

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•S 1171 IS

1 scribed under section 13101(13) of title 5, United 

2 States Code’’ and inserting ‘‘officer or employee of 

3 Congress (as defined in section 13101 of title 5, 

4 United States Code)’’. 

5 (3) SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.—Sec6 tion 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

7 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (g)(2)(B)(ii), by striking 

9 ‘‘section 13101(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 13101’’; and 

11 (B) in subsection (h)(2)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

13 ‘‘in section 13101(9)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘under section 13101’’; and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

16 ‘‘section 13101(10)’’ and inserting ‘‘in sec17 tion 13101’’. 

18 SEC. 3. PENALTY FOR STOCK ACT NONCOMPLIANCE. 

19 (a) FINES FOR FAILURE TO REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The STOCK Act (Public 

21 Law 112–105; 126 Stat. 291) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 20. FINES FOR FAILURE TO REPORT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro25 vision of law (including regulations), a reporting individual 


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•S 1171 IS

1 shall be assessed a fine, pursuant to regulations issued by 

2 the applicable supervising ethics office (including the Ad3 ministrative Office of the United States Courts, as appli4 cable), of $500 in each case in which the reporting indi5 vidual fails to file a transaction report required under this 

6 Act or an amendment made by this Act. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEPOSIT IN TREASURY.—The fines paid under 

8 this section shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts 

9 of the Treasury.’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

11 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date on 

12 which the reporting individual who is a Member of 

13 Congress commences the first new term of service as 

14 a Member of Congress on or after January 31, 

15 2023. 

16 (b) RULES, REGULATIONS, GUIDANCE, AND DOCU17 MENTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, each supervising ethics office (as defined 

19 in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code) (including 

20 the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, as 

21 applicable) shall amend the rules, regulations, guidance, 

22 documents, papers, and other records of the supervising 

23 ethics office in accordance with the amendment made by 

24 this section. 


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•S 1171 IS

1 SEC. 4. ELECTRONIC FILING AND ONLINE PUBLIC AVAIL2 ABILITY OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS. 

3 (a) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND CONGRESSIONAL

4 STAFF.—Section 8(b)(1) of the STOCK Act (5 U.S.C. 

5 13107 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

7 by inserting ‘‘, pursuant to subchapter I of chapter 

8 131 of part IV of title 5, United States Code, 

9 through databases maintained on the official 

10 websites of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Senate’’ after ‘‘enable’’; and 

12 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and the un13 designated matter following that subparagraph and 

14 inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(B) public access— 

16 ‘‘(i) to each— 

17 ‘‘(I) financial disclosure report 

18 filed by a Member of Congress or a 

19 candidate for Congress; 

20 ‘‘(II) transaction disclosure re21 port filed by a Member of Congress or 

22 a candidate for Congress pursuant to 

23 subsection (l) of that section; and 

24 ‘‘(III) notice of extension, amend25 ment, or blind trust, with respect to a 

26 report described in subclause (I) or 


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•S 1171 IS

1 (II), pursuant to subchapter I of 

2 chapter 131 of part IV of title 5, 

3 United States Code; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in a manner that— 

5 ‘‘(I) allows the public to search, 

6 sort, and download data contained in 

7 the reports described in subclause (I) 

8 or (II) of clause (i) by criteria re9 quired to be reported, including by 

10 filer name, asset, transaction type, 

11 ticker symbol, notification date, 

12 amount of transaction, and date of 

13 transaction; 

14 ‘‘(II) allows access through an 

15 application programming interface; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(III) is fully compliant with— 

18 ‘‘(aa) section 508 of the Re19 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 

20 U.S.C. 794d); and 

21 ‘‘(bb) the most recent Web 

22 Content Accessibility Guidelines 

23 (or successor guidelines).’’. 


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•S 1171 IS

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section take effect on the date that is 18 months after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 

5 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

6 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend7 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti8 tutional, the remainder of this Act and of the amendments 

9 made by this Act, and the application of the remaining 

10 provisions of this Act and amendments to any person or 

11 circumstance, shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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