I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1679 
To prohibit stock trading and ownership by Members of Congress and spouses 
of Members of Congress, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2023 
Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. GARCI´A of 
Illinois, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. POR-
TER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TONKO, Mr. ROSENDALE, and Mr. BUCK) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, House 
Administration, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit stock trading and ownership by Members of 
Congress and spouses of Members of Congress, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bipartisan Ban on 
Congressional Stock Ownership Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. BAR ON STOCK TRADING AND OWNERSHIP BY MEM-
BERS OF CONGRESS AND SPOUSES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘commodity’’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 1a of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 
(2) CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE.—The 
term ‘‘congressional ethics committee’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 13101 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(3) DIVERSIFIED.—The term ‘‘diversified’’, 
with respect to an investment fund, means that the 
investment fund does not have a stated policy of 
overly concentrating its investments. 
(4) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem-
ber of Congress’’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 13101 of title 5, United States Code. 
(5) SECURITY.—The term ‘‘security’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 3(a) of Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 
(6) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 
that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632). 
(7) WIDELY
HELD
INVESTMENT
FUND.—The 
term ‘‘widely held investment fund’’ means a widely 
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held investment fund described in 13104(f)(8) of 
title 5, United States Code. 
(b) DIVESTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), no Member of Congress or spouse of a 
Member of Congress may own an interest in or trade 
(except as a divestment) any stock, bond, com-
modity, future, or other form of security, including 
an interest in a hedge fund, a derivative, option, or 
other complex investment vehicle. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(A) CURRENT MEMBERS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), an individual who is a Mem-
ber of Congress on the date of enactment 
of this Act, or the spouse of such an indi-
vidual, shall complete the divestment of 
any asset described in paragraph (1) by 
not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
(ii) CERTAIN ASSETS.—For an asset 
described in paragraph (1) that is an inter-
est in a hedge fund, venture capital fund, 
or other privately held complex investment 
vehicle, an individual who is a Member of 
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Congress on the date of enactment of this 
Act, or the spouse of such an individual, 
shall complete the divestment of the asset 
by not later than 5 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
(B) NEW MEMBERS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), an individual who becomes a 
Member of Congress after the date of en-
actment of this Act, or who is the spouse 
of such an individual, shall complete the 
divestment of any asset described in para-
graph (1) by not later than 180 days after 
the date on which the individual becomes a 
Member of Congress. 
(ii) CERTAIN ASSETS.—For an asset 
described in paragraph (1) that is an inter-
est in a hedge fund, venture capital fund, 
or other privately held complex investment 
vehicle, an individual who becomes a Mem-
ber of Congress after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, or who is the spouse of 
such an individual, shall complete the di-
vestment of the asset by not later than 5 
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years after the date on which the indi-
vidual becomes a Member of Congress. 
(C) DIVESTMENT
OF
ASSETS
RECEIVED 
WHILE A MEMBER.—An individual serving as a 
Member of Congress, or the spouse of such an 
individual, who receives any asset described in 
paragraph (1) during the period of such service, 
such as from an inheritance, shall complete the 
divestment of the asset by not later than 180 
days after the date on which the individual or 
spouse receives the asset. 
(c) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prevent— 
(1) a Member of Congress or spouse of a Mem-
ber of Congress from owning or trading— 
(A) a widely held investment fund, if the 
widely held investment fund— 
(i) does not present a conflict of inter-
est; and 
(ii) is diversified; 
(B) shares of Settlement Common Stock 
issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) of the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1606(g)(1)(A)); 
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(C) shares of Settlement Common Stock, 
as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native 
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602); 
(D) a United States Treasury bill, note, or 
bond; 
(E) an investment fund held in a Federal, 
State, or local government employee retirement 
plan; 
(F) an interest in a small business con-
cern, if the small business concern does not 
present a conflict of interest; or 
(G) any asset described in subsection 
(b)(1) received as compensation from the pri-
mary occupation of the spouse; or 
(2) a spouse of a Member of Congress from 
trading any asset described in subsection (b)(1) that 
is not owned by the spouse or Member of Congress 
in the course of performing the primary occupation 
of the spouse. 
(d) CIVIL FINES.—The Attorney General or the Spe-
cial Counsel may bring a civil action in the appropriate 
United States district court against any Member of Con-
gress or spouse of a Member of Congress who engages 
in conduct constituting a violation of this section and, 
upon proof of such conduct by a preponderance of the evi-
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dence, such Member of Congress or spouse shall be subject 
to a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each viola-
tion. The imposition of a civil penalty under this sub-
section does not preclude any other criminal or civil statu-
tory, common law, or administrative remedy, which is 
available by law to the United States or any other person. 
(e) NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 
1043(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A); 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
subparagraph (C); 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) any Member of Congress or Member 
of Congress-elect, but only with respect to a di-
vestment of property required by the Bipartisan 
Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act of 
2023, and’’; and 
(D) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ in 
subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, and in-
serting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B), whichever is 
applicable’’. 
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(2) CERTIFICATE OF DIVESTITURE.—Subpara-
graph (B) of section 1043(b)(2) of such Code is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or by’’ and inserting 
‘‘by’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, or by the applicable 
congressional ethics committee, in the case of 
Members of Congress, Members of Congress- 
elect, and spouses of Members of Congress and 
Members of Congress-elect’’ after ‘‘judicial offi-
cers’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to sales of property 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(f) INTERPRETIVE GUIDANCE.—The Select Com-
mittee on Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Eth-
ics of the House of Representatives shall issue interpretive 
guidance regarding relevant terms not defined in this Act 
or elsewhere in statute. 
Æ 
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