I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4890 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2025 
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Mr. CLOUD, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. 
NEGUSE, Mr. RILEY of New York, and Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform, and the Judiciary, 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 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. 
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 ‘‘Ending Trading and 
Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF 
CONGRESS AND THEIR SPOUSES AND DE-
PENDENT CHILDREN IN QUALIFIED BLIND 
TRUSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 131 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Subchapter IV—Certain Assets of Members 
of Congress and Their Spouses and De-
pendent Children 
‘‘§ 13161. Definitions 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘commodity’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 1a of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 
‘‘(2) COVERED INVESTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered in-
vestment’ means— 
‘‘(i) an investment in— 
‘‘(I) a security; 
‘‘(II) a commodity; or 
‘‘(III) a future; 
‘‘(ii) any economic interest com-
parable to an interest described in clause 
(i) that is acquired through synthetic 
means, such as the use of a derivative, in-
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cluding an option, warrant, or other, simi-
lar means; or 
‘‘(iii) any interest described in clause 
(i) or (ii) that is held directly, or in which 
an individual has an indirect, beneficial, or 
economic interest, through— 
‘‘(I) an investment fund or hold-
ing company; 
‘‘(II) a trust (other than a quali-
fied blind trust); 
‘‘(III) an employee benefit plan; 
or 
‘‘(IV) a deferred compensation 
plan, including a carried interest or 
other agreement tied to the perform-
ance of an investment, other than a 
fixed cash payment. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered in-
vestment’ does not include— 
‘‘(i) a diversified mutual fund (includ-
ing any holdings of such a fund); 
‘‘(ii) a diversified exchange-traded 
fund (including any holdings of such a 
fund); 
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‘‘(iii) a United States Treasury bill, 
note, or bond; 
‘‘(iv) compensation from the primary 
occupation of the spouse of a Member of 
Congress, or any security that is issued or 
paid by an operating business that is the 
primary employer of such a spouse that is 
issued or paid to such a spouse; 
‘‘(v) holding and acquiring any secu-
rity that is issued or paid as compensation 
from corporate board service by the spouse 
of a Member of Congress, including the 
dividend reinvestment in the same security 
received from the corporate board service 
by the spouse of a Member of Congress; 
‘‘(vi) any covered investment that is 
traded by the spouse of a Member of Con-
gress in the course of performing the pri-
mary occupation of such a spouse, pro-
vided the investment is not owned by a 
covered person; 
‘‘(vii) any investment fund held in a 
Federal, State, or local government em-
ployee retirement plan; 
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‘‘(viii) a tax-free State or municipal 
bond; 
‘‘(ix) an interest in a small business 
concern, if the supervising ethics office de-
termines that the small business concern 
does not present a conflict of interest, and, 
in the case of an investment in a family 
farm or ranch that qualifies as an interest 
in a small business concern, a future or 
commodity directly related to the farming 
activities and products of the farm or 
ranch; 
‘‘(x) holding investment-grade cor-
porate bonds, provided that the corporate 
bonds are held by an individual who is a 
covered person on the date of enactment of 
the Ending Trading and Holdings in Con-
gressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act; 
‘‘(xi) any share of Settlement Com-
mon Stock issued under section 7(g)(1)(A) 
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(g)(1)(A)); or 
‘‘(xii) any share of Settlement Com-
mon Stock, as defined in section 3 of the 
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Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1602). 
‘‘(3) COVERED
PERSON.—The term ‘covered 
person’ means— 
‘‘(A) a Member of Congress; and 
‘‘(B) a spouse or dependent child of a 
Member of Congress. 
‘‘(4) CUSTODY.—The term ‘custody’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 275.206(4)–2(d) 
of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 
on the date of enactment of the Ending Trading and 
Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act or 
a successor regulation). 
‘‘(5) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘depend-
ent child’ means, with respect to any Member of 
Congress any individual who is— 
‘‘(A) under the age of 19; and 
‘‘(B) a dependent of the Member of Con-
gress within the meaning of section 152 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(6) DIVERSIFIED.—The term ‘diversified’, 
with respect to a fund, trust, or plan, means that 
the fund, trust, or plan does not have a stated policy 
of concentrating its investments in any industry, 
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business, or single country other than the United 
States. 
‘‘(7) FUTURE.—The term ‘future’ means— 
‘‘(A) a security future (as defined in sec-
tion 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); and 
‘‘(B) any other contract for the sale of a 
commodity for future delivery. 
‘‘(8) ILLIQUID
INVESTMENT.—The term ‘il-
liquid investment’ means an interest in a private 
fund, as defined in section 202(a)(29) of the Invest-
ment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2). 
‘‘(9) INITIAL
PROPERTY.—The term ‘initial 
property’ means an asset or financial interest trans-
ferred to a qualified blind trust by, or on behalf of, 
an interested party or a relative of an interested 
party, regardless of whether the asset or financial 
interest is transferred to the qualified blind trust on 
or after the date of establishment of the qualified 
blind trust. 
‘‘(10) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘inter-
ested party’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 102(f)(3)(E). 
‘‘(11) MEMBER
OF
CONGRESS; SUPERVISING 
ETHICS OFFICE.—The terms ‘Member of Congress’ 
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and ‘supervising ethics office’ have the meaning 
given those terms in section 13101. 
‘‘(12) QUALIFIED
BLIND
TRUST.—The term 
‘qualified blind trust’ means a qualified blind trust 
(as defined in section 13104(f)(3)) that has been ap-
proved in writing by the applicable supervising ethics 
office under section 13104(f)(3)(D). 
‘‘(13) SECURITY.—The term ‘security’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Secu-
rities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 
‘‘(14) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 
‘small business concern’ has the meaning given the 
term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632). 
‘‘§ 13162. Trading covered investments 
‘‘(a) BAN ON TRADING.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c)— 
‘‘(1) effective on the date of enactment of the 
Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional 
Stocks (ETHICS) Act, a Member of Congress shall 
not purchase any covered investment; 
‘‘(2) effective on the date that is 90 days after 
the date of enactment of the Ending Trading and 
Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, a 
Member shall of Congress not sell any covered in-
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vestment, except as provided in section 203(a)(2); 
and 
‘‘(3) on and after the effective date described in 
section 203(k), a covered person that is a spouse or 
dependent child of a Member of Congress shall not 
purchase any covered investment or sell any covered 
investment, except as provided in section 203(a)(2). 
‘‘(b) OPTIONAL DIVESTMENT WINDOW.—Notwith-
standing subsection (a)— 
‘‘(1) a Member of Congress who is sworn as a 
Member of Congress on or before the date of enact-
ment of the Ending Trading and Holdings in Con-
gressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act may sell a covered 
investment within 90 days of the date of enactment 
of such Act, provided that the Member of Congress 
may not sell any covered investment at any time out-
side of that period while the Member of Congress 
serves the term for which the Member of Congress 
was elected or is reelected or appointed as a Member 
of Congress except as provided in section 203(a)(2); 
and 
‘‘(2) a Member of Congress who is sworn as a 
Member of Congress after the date of enactment of 
the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional 
Stocks (ETHICS) Act may sell a covered investment 
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within 90 days of commencing the term of service as 
a Member of Congress, provided that the Member of 
Congress may not sell any covered investment at any 
time outside of that period while the Member of 
Congress serves the term for which the Member of 
Congress was elected or is reelected or appointed as 
a Member of Congress except as provided in section 
203(a)(2). 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 
covered person may divest a covered investment as di-
rected by the relevant supervising ethics office pursuant 
to this Act. 
‘‘(d) JOINT COVERED INVESTMENT.—Any covered 
investment reported to the supervising ethics office as 
jointly owned by a Member of Congress and the spouse 
of the Member of Congress shall be deemed to be a covered 
investment of the Member of Congress for purposes of this 
section. 
‘‘§ 13163. Addressing owned covered investments 
‘‘(a) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days 
after the applicable effective date described in sub-
section (j), a Member of Congress shall submit to 
the supervising ethics office a certification, which 
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the supervising ethics office shall publish online that 
certifies that— 
‘‘(A) each covered investment owned by, or 
in the custody of, the Member of Congress, or 
a spouse or dependent child of the Member of 
Congress, will, by the applicable deadline under 
paragraph (2), be— 
‘‘(i) divested, as described in para-
graph (2)(B); or 
‘‘(ii) placed in a qualified blind trust, 
including through the establishment of a 
qualified blind trust for that purpose, if 
necessary, as described in paragraph 
(2)(A); and 
‘‘(B) no spouse or dependent child of the 
Member of Congress owns, or has custody of, 
covered investments with a cumulative amount 
equal to more than $10,000, in accordance with 
paragraph (6). 
‘‘(2) DIVESTITURE OR PLACEMENT IN QUALI-
FIED BLIND TRUST.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to para-
graphs (3) and (6) and subsection (b)(2), not 
later than 120 days after the applicable effec-
tive date described in subsection (j), a Member 
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of Congress shall divest, or place in a qualified 
blind trust (including by establishing a qualified 
blind trust for that purpose, if necessary), each 
covered investment owned or in the custody 
of— 
‘‘(i) the Member of Congress; or 
‘‘(ii) a spouse or dependent child of 
the Member of Congress. 
‘‘(B) DIVESTITURE.—A covered person 
shall divest any covered investment owned by or 
in the custody of the covered person that is not 
placed in a qualified blind trust not later than 
the date described in subparagraph (A), subject 
to any extension granted under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(C) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 
‘‘(i) MANDATORY
SALE
OF
INITIAL 
PROPERTY IN QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to 
clause (ii), if a covered person places, 
or has placed before the applicable ef-
fective date described in subsection 
(j), 1 or more covered investments in 
a qualified blind trust, the trustee of 
the qualified blind trust shall divest 
any such covered investment not later 
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than the date specified in subclause 
(II). 
‘‘(II) 
DEADLINE.—The 
date 
specified in this subclause is— 
‘‘(aa) with respect to a cov-
ered investment placed in a quali-
fied blind trust before the appli-
cable effective date described in 
subsection (j), 120 days after 
such applicable effective date; 
and 
‘‘(bb) with respect to a cov-
ered investment placed in a quali-
fied blind trust on or after the 
applicable effective date described 
in subsection (j), 120 days after 
the date of creation of the quali-
fied blind trust, as dated by the 
executed qualified blind trust 
agreement. 
‘‘(III) 
NOTICE
OF
COMPLI-
ANCE.— 
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—Sub-
ject to item (bb), upon comple-
tion of the divestiture of all ini-
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tial property pursuant to sub-
clause (I)— 
‘‘(AA) the trustee of a 
qualified blind trust shall 
submit to the supervising 
ethics office and each bene-
ficiary of the trust a written 
notice stating that all initial 
property of the qualified 
blind trust has been di-
vested; and 
‘‘(BB) the supervising 
ethics office shall publish the 
notice described in subitem 
(AA) on the website of the 
supervising ethics office. 
‘‘(bb) 
CONTENTS.—Each 
notice 
described 
in 
item 
(aa)(AA)— 
‘‘(AA) shall only iden-
tify the initial property gen-
erally by referring to the 
complete list of assets de-
scribed 
in 
section 
102(f)(5)(A)(ii) of the Eth-
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ics in Government Act (5 
U.S.C. App.); and 
‘‘(BB) may not contain 
any other information relat-
ing to any holding of the 
qualified blind trust or the 
timing of any divestiture. 
‘‘(ii) 
EXTENSION
OF
MANDATORY 
SALE OF INITIAL PROPERTY.— 
‘‘(I) REQUEST.—A covered per-
son may apply to the supervising eth-
ics office for an extension of the pe-
riod described in clause (i)(I) if the 
size or complexity of the covered in-
vestments in the qualified blind trust 
warrant such extension. 
‘‘(II) DURATION.—An extension 
granted under subclause (I) shall not 
exceed 90 days. 
‘‘(D) ILLIQUID INVESTMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) SALE.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which a covered person is 
contractually permitted to sell an illiquid 
investment, the covered person shall divest 
the illiquid investment. 
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‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION.—A covered person 
may not place an illiquid investment in any 
qualified blind trust under subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(E) TRUSTEES.—A trustee of a qualified 
blind trust— 
‘‘(i) shall be required to be a financial 
institution, as defined in section 1a of the 
Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a); 
and 
‘‘(ii) except for a financial institution, 
may not be— 
‘‘(I) an attorney; 
‘‘(II) a certified public account-
ant; 
‘‘(III) a broker, as defined in sec-
tion 3(a) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); or 
‘‘(IV) an investment advisor. 
‘‘(3) EXTENSION OF ASSETS BEING PLACED IN 
QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.—If a covered person is 
unable to place a covered investment in a qualified 
blind trust by the date described in paragraph 
(2)(A), the applicable Member of Congress may re-
quest, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 
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1 or more reasonable extensions, subject to the con-
ditions that— 
‘‘(A) the total period of time covered by all 
extensions granted for the covered investment 
shall not exceed 150 days; and 
‘‘(B) the period covered by a single exten-
sion shall be not longer than 45 days. 
‘‘(4) COMMUNICATIONS
REGARDING
EXISTING 
QUALIFIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any direct or indirect 
communication relating to a qualified blind 
trust in existence on the applicable effective 
date described in subsection (j) between a trust-
ee of the qualified blind trust and an interested 
party shall be permissible for purposes of this 
title if the communication— 
‘‘(i)(I) is made— 
‘‘(aa) in writing; and 
‘‘(bb) not later than 60 days 
after that effective date; 
‘‘(II) is filed with the applicable su-
pervising ethics office by the person initi-
ating the communication not less than 5 
days before the date of the communication; 
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‘‘(III) relates to a direction or request 
to the trustee— 
‘‘(aa) to sell all initial property 
placed in the qualified blind trust by 
any interested party; or 
‘‘(bb) to convert all of an asset in 
the qualified blind trust into an in-
vestment other than a covered invest-
ment; and 
‘‘(ii) is otherwise permitted under sec-
tion 102(f)(3)(C)(vi). 
‘‘(5) COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN
COVERED 
PERSONS AND TRUSTEES RELATING TO ALL QUALI-
FIED BLIND TRUSTS.— 
‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—A trustee of a quali-
fied blind trust shall not notify a covered person 
if— 
‘‘(i) the value of the initial property of 
the qualified blind trust is less than 
$1,000; or 
‘‘(ii) the trustee divests any property 
of the qualified blind trust, other than the 
initial property required to be divested pur-
suant to paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) COMMUNICATION.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any communica-
tion between a covered person and the 
trustee of the relevant qualified blind 
trust— 
‘‘(I) shall be in writing; and 
‘‘(II) submitted and approved in 
advance of the communication by the 
supervising ethics office. 
‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION.—A communica-
tion described in clause (i) may not include 
any information relating to the manner in 
which funds of the qualified blind trust are 
invested, including any information relat-
ing to— 
‘‘(I) any company in which the 
funds are invested; or 
‘‘(II) any sector in which the 
funds are invested. 
‘‘(6) EXCEPTION
FOR
DEPENDENTS.—A cov-
ered person who is a dependent child of a Member 
of Congress may have a legal guardian hold or trade 
on behalf of the dependent child 1 or more covered 
investments provided that the value of the covered 
investments in total does not exceed $10,000. 
‘‘(b) ACQUISITIONS DURING SERVICE.— 
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