I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6490 

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

involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 25, 2022 

Mrs. HARTZLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 

Ways and Means, 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 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’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 6490 IH

1 SEC. 2. BANNING INSIDER TRADING IN CONGRESS. 

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

3 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by inserting after title 

4 I the following: 

5 ‘‘TITLE II—BANNING INSIDER 

6 TRADING IN CONGRESS 

7 ‘‘SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this title: 

9 ‘‘(1) COVERED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered fi11 nancial instrument’ means— 

12 ‘‘(i) any investment in— 

13 ‘‘(I) a security (as defined in sec14 tion 3(a) of Securities Exchange Act 

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

16 ‘‘(II) a security future (as de17 fined in that section); or 

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

19 section 1a of the Commodity Ex20 change Act (7 U.S.C. 1a)); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) any economic interest com22 parable to an interest described in clause 

23 (i) that is acquired through synthetic 

24 means, such as the use of a derivative, in25 cluding an option, warrant, or other simi26 lar means. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 6490 IH

1 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered fi2 nancial instrument’ does not include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a diversified mutual fund; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a diversified exchange-traded 

5 fund; 

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

7 note, or bond; or 

8 ‘‘(iv) compensation from the primary 

9 occupation of a spouse or dependent of a 

10 Member of Congress. 

11 ‘‘(2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘Mem12 ber of Congress’ has the meaning given the term in 

13 section 109. 

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

15 ‘qualified blind trust’ has the meaning given the 

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

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

18 term ‘supervising ethics committee’ means, as appli19 cable— 

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

21 the Senate; and 

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

23 House of Representatives. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 6490 IH

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

2 HOLDINGS INVOLVING COVERED FINANCIAL 

3 INSTRUMENTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub5 section (b), a Member of Congress, or any spouse of a 

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

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

8 covered financial instrument. 

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under sub10 section (a) shall not apply to— 

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

12 spouse of a Member of Congress, that is completed 

13 by the date that is— 

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

15 the date of enactment of the Banning Insider 

16 Trading in Congress Act, 180 days after that 

17 date of enactment; and 

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

19 commences service as a Member of Congress 

20 after the date of enactment of the Banning In21 sider Trading in Congress Act, 180 days after 

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

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

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

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

26 Member of Congress. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 6490 IH

1 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.— 

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

3 shall disgorge to the Treasury of the United States 

4 any profit from a transaction or holding involving a 

5 covered financial instrument that is conducted in 

6 violation of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) INCOME TAX.—A loss from a transaction 

8 or holding involving a covered financial instrument 

9 that is conducted in violation of this section may not 

10 be deducted from the amount of income tax owed by 

11 the applicable Member of Congress or spouse of a 

12 Member of Congress. 

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

14 or conducts a transaction involving, or whose spouse 

15 holds or conducts a transaction involving, a covered 

16 financial instrument in violation of this section may 

17 be subject to a civil fine assessed by the supervising 

18 ethics committee under section 204. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 203. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annu21 ally, each Member of Congress shall submit to the applica22 ble supervising ethics committee a written certification 

23 that the Member of Congress has achieved compliance 

24 with the requirements of this title. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 6490 IH

1 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The supervising ethics commit2 tees shall publish each certification submitted under sub3 section (a) on a publicly available website. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 204. AUTHORITY OF SUPERVISING ETHICS COMMIT5 TEES. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The supervising ethics commit7 tees may implement and enforce the requirements of this 

8 title, including by— 

9 ‘‘(1) issuing— 

10 ‘‘(A) for Members of Congress— 

11 ‘‘(i) rules governing that implementa12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more reasonable extensions 

14 to achieve compliance with this title, if the 

15 supervising ethics committee determines 

16 that a Member of Congress is making a 

17 good faith effort to divest any covered fi18 nancial instruments; and 

19 ‘‘(B) guidance relating to covered financial 

20 instruments; 

21 ‘‘(2) publishing on the Internet certifications 

22 submitted by Members of Congress under section 

23 203(a); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 6490 IH

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

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

3 subsection (b). 

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

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before imposing a fine pur6 suant to this section, a supervising ethics committee 

7 shall provide to the applicable Member of Con8 gress— 

9 ‘‘(A) a written notice describing each cov10 ered financial instrument transaction for which 

11 a fine will be assessed; and 

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

13 such covered financial instrument transaction— 

14 ‘‘(i) for a hearing; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to achieve compliance with the 

16 requirements of this title. 

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

18 committee shall publish on a publicly available 

19 website a description of— 

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

21 ethics committee pursuant to this section; 

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

23 assessed; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 6490 IH

1 ‘‘(C) the result of each assessment, includ2 ing any hearing under paragraph (1)(B)(i) re3 lating to the assessment. 

4 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.—A Member of Congress may ap5 peal the assessment of a fine under this section to 

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

7 Representatives, as applicable, as a privileged mo8 tion. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 205. AUDIT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF10 FICE. 

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

12 of the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act, the 

13 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

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

15 Members of Congress with the requirements of this 

16 title; and 

17 ‘‘(2) submit to the supervising ethics commit18 tees a report describing the results of the audit con19 ducted under paragraph (1).’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) Section 109 of the Ethics in Government 

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

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

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

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 6490 IH

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

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

3 and inserting the following: ‘‘means, as applica4 ble— 

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

6 the Senate; and 

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

8 House of Representatives.’’; 

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

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

11 paragraph and inserting a period; 

12 (D) in paragraph (18)— 

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

14 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and in15 serting ‘‘Ethics’’; and 

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

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

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

19 (19)— 

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

21 paragraph designation; and 

22 (ii) by inserting a paragraph heading, 

23 the text of which is comprised of the term 

24 defined in that paragraph; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 6490 IH

1 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 

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

3 moving the paragraphs so as to appear in nu4 merical order. 

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

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

7 (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘as de8 fined under section 109(12)’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘as de10 fined under section 109(13)’’; 

11 (C) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘as de12 fined under section 109(10)’’; and 

13 (D) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘as de14 fined under section 109(8)’’. 

15 (3) Section 103 of the Ethics in Government 

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

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

18 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘Ethics’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (l)— 

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

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

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

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 6490 IH

1 (4) Section 105(b)(3)(A) of the Ethics in Gov2 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

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

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

5 or judicial officer’’. 

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

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

8 ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Eth9 ics’’. 

10 (6) Section 402 of the Ethics in Government 

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

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

13 of’’ each place it appears; and 

14 (B) in subsection (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 (7) Section 503(1)(A) of the Ethics in Govern20 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘Standards of Official Conduct’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘Ethics’’. 

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

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

25 striking ‘‘legislative branch employee serving in a poVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:33 Jan 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6490.IH H6490

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 6490 IH

1 sition described under section 109(13) of the Ethics 

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

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

4 defined in section 109 of the Ethics in Government 

5 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.))’’. 

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

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

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

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

10 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(11))’’ and in11 serting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in Govern12 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)’’; and 

13 (B) in subsection (h)(2)— 

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

15 ‘‘section 109(8) of the Ethics in Govern16 ment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 109(8))’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘section 109 of the Ethics in 

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

19 and 

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

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

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

23 109(10))’’ and inserting ‘‘in section 109 of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 6490 IH

1 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

2 U.S.C. App.)’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS