II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3504 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to prohibit transactions 

involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 13 (legislative day, JANUARY 10), 2022 

Mr. HAWLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to prohibit 

transactions involving certain financial instruments by 

Members of Congress. 

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 ‘‘Banning Insider Trad5 ing in Congress Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BANNING INSIDER TRADING IN CONGRESS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Ethics in Government Act of 

8 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after title 

9 I the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE II—BANNING INSIDER 

2 TRADING IN CONGRESS 

3 ‘‘SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

4 ‘‘In this title: 

5 ‘‘(1) COVERED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered fi7 nancial instrument’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) any investment in— 

9 ‘‘(I) a security (as defined in sec10 tion 3(a) of Securities Exchange Act 

11 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); 

12 ‘‘(II) a security future (as de13 fined in that section); or 

14 ‘‘(III) a commodity (as defined in 

15 section 1a of the Commodity Ex16 change Act (7 U.S.C. 1a)); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any economic interest com18 parable to an interest described in clause 

19 (i) that is acquired through synthetic 

20 means, such as the use of a derivative, in21 cluding an option, warrant, or other simi22 lar means. 

23 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered fi24 nancial instrument’ does not include— 

25 ‘‘(i) a diversified mutual fund; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a diversified exchange-traded 

2 fund; 

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

4 note, or bond; or 

5 ‘‘(iv) compensation from the primary 

6 occupation of a spouse or dependent of a 

7 Member of Congress. 

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘Mem9 ber of Congress’ has the meaning given the term in 

10 section 109. 

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

12 ‘qualified blind trust’ has the meaning given the 

13 term in section 102(f)(3). 

14 ‘‘(4) SUPERVISING ETHICS COMMITTEE.—The 

15 term ‘supervising ethics committee’ means, as appli16 cable— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Select Committee on Ethics of 

18 the Senate; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Ethics of the 

20 House of Representatives. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 202. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS AND 

22 HOLDINGS INVOLVING COVERED FINANCIAL 

23 INSTRUMENTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub25 section (b), a Member of Congress, or any spouse of a 


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1 Member of Congress, may not, during the term of service 

2 of the Member of Congress, hold, purchase, or sell any 

3 covered financial instrument. 

4 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under sub5 section (a) shall not apply to— 

6 ‘‘(1) a sale by a Member of Congress, or a 

7 spouse of a Member of Congress, that is completed 

8 by the date that is— 

9 ‘‘(A) for a Member of Congress serving on 

10 the date of enactment of the Banning Insider 

11 Trading in Congress Act, 180 days after that 

12 date of enactment; and 

13 ‘‘(B) for any Member of Congress who 

14 commences service as a Member of Congress 

15 after the date of enactment of the Banning In16 sider Trading in Congress Act, 180 days after 

17 the first date of the initial term of service; or 

18 ‘‘(2) a covered financial instrument held in a 

19 qualified blind trust operated on behalf of, or for the 

20 benefit of, the Member of Congress or spouse of the 

21 Member of Congress. 

22 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DISGORGEMENT.—A Member of Congress 

24 shall disgorge to the Treasury of the United States 

25 any profit from a transaction or holding involving a 


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1 covered financial instrument that is conducted in 

2 violation of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) FINES.—A Member of Congress who holds 

4 or conducts a transaction involving, or whose spouse 

5 holds or conducts a transaction involving, a covered 

6 financial instrument in violation of this section may 

7 be subject to a civil fine assessed by the supervising 

8 ethics committee under section 204. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 203. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annu11 ally, each Member of Congress shall submit to the applica12 ble supervising ethics committee a written certification 

13 that the Member of Congress has achieved compliance 

14 with the requirements of this title. 

15 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The supervising ethics commit16 tees shall publish each certification submitted under sub17 section (a) on a publicly available website. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 204. AUTHORITY OF SUPERVISING ETHICS COMMIT19 TEES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The supervising ethics commit21 tees may implement and enforce the requirements of this 

22 title, including by— 

23 ‘‘(1) issuing— 

24 ‘‘(A) for Members of Congress— 


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1 ‘‘(i) rules governing that implementa2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more reasonable extensions 

4 to achieve compliance with this title, if the 

5 supervising ethics committee determines 

6 that a Member of Congress is making a 

7 good faith effort to divest any covered fi8 nancial instruments; and 

9 ‘‘(B) guidance relating to covered financial 

10 instruments; 

11 ‘‘(2) publishing on the internet certifications 

12 submitted by Members of Congress under section 

13 203(a); and 

14 ‘‘(3) assessing civil fines against any Member of 

15 Congress who is in violation of this title, subject to 

16 subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CIVIL FINES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before imposing a fine pur19 suant to this section, a supervising ethics committee 

20 shall provide to the applicable Member of Con21 gress— 

22 ‘‘(A) a written notice describing each cov23 ered financial instrument transaction for which 

24 a fine will be assessed; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an opportunity, with respect to each 

2 such covered financial instrument transaction— 

3 ‘‘(i) for a hearing; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) to achieve compliance with the 

5 requirements of this title. 

6 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—Each supervising ethics 

7 committee shall publish on a publicly available 

8 website a description of— 

9 ‘‘(A) each fine assessed by the supervising 

10 ethics committee pursuant to this section; 

11 ‘‘(B) the reasons why each such fine was 

12 assessed; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the result of each assessment, includ14 ing any hearing under paragraph (1)(B)(i) re15 lating to the assessment. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.—A Member of Congress may ap17 peal the assessment of a fine under this section to 

18 a vote on the floor of the Senate or the House of 

19 Representatives, as applicable, as a privileged mo20 tion. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 205. AUDIT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF22 FICE. 

23 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

24 of the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act, the 

25 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) conduct an audit of the compliance by 

2 Members of Congress with the requirements of this 

3 title; and 

4 ‘‘(2) submit to the supervising ethics commit5 tees a report describing the results of the audit con6 ducted under paragraph (1).’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 109 of the Ethics in Government 

9 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

11 by striking ‘‘For the purposes of this title, the 

12 term—’’ and inserting ‘‘In this title:’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘means’’ 

14 and all that follows through ‘‘Representatives;’’ 

15 and inserting the following: ‘‘means, as applica16 ble— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Select Committee on Ethics of 

18 the Senate; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Ethics of the 

20 House of Representatives.’’; 

21 (C) in each of paragraphs (2) through 

22 (17), by striking the semicolon at the end of the 

23 paragraph and inserting a period; 

24 (D) in paragraph (18)— 


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

2 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and in3 serting ‘‘Ethics’’; and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

5 ‘‘; and’’ at the end and inserting a period; 

6 (E) in each of paragraphs (1) through 

7 (19)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ after the 

9 paragraph designation; and 

10 (ii) by inserting a paragraph heading, 

11 the text of which is comprised of the term 

12 defined in that paragraph; and 

13 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 

14 (9) as paragraphs (9) and (8), respectively, and 

15 moving the paragraphs so as to appear in nu16 merical order. 

17 (2) Section 101(f) of the Ethics in Government 

18 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

19 (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘as de20 fined under section 109(12)’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘as de22 fined under section 109(13)’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘as de24 fined under section 109(10)’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘as de2 fined under section 109(8)’’. 

3 (3) Section 103 of the Ethics in Government 

4 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

5 (A) in subsection (j)(1), by striking 

6 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘Ethics’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (l)— 

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

10 defined under section 109(12)’’; and 

11 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘, 

12 as defined under section 109(13)’’. 

13 (4) Section 105(b)(3)(A) of the Ethics in Gov14 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘described in section 109(8) or 109(10) of 

16 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘who is a judicial employee 

17 or judicial officer’’. 

18 (5) Section 111(2) of the Ethics in Government 

19 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Eth21 ics’’. 

22 (6) Section 402 of the Ethics in Government 

23 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

24 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘title II 

25 of’’ each place it appears; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (f)(2)(B)— 

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

3 of this subparagraph, before’’ each place it 

4 appears and inserting ‘‘Before’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking clause (iv). 

6 (7) Section 503(1)(A) of the Ethics in Govern7 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Ethics’’. 

10 (8) Section 3(4)(D) of the Lobbying Disclosure 

11 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(4)(D)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘legislative branch employee serving in a po13 sition described under section 109(13) of the Ethics 

14 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘officer or employee of the Congress (as 

16 defined in section 109 of the Ethics in Government 

17 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.))’’. 

18 (9) Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act 

19 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u–1) is amended— 

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

21 ‘‘section 109(11) of the Ethics in Government 

22 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(11))’’ and in23 serting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in Govern24 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’; and 

25 (B) in subsection (h)(2)— 


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

2 ‘‘section 109(8) of the Ethics in Govern3 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(8))’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in 

5 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’; 

6 and 

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

8 ‘‘under section 109(10) of the Ethics in 

9 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 

10 109(10))’’ and inserting ‘‘in section 109 of 

11 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

12 U.S.C. App.)’’. 

Æ 


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