Title: To temporarily ban stock buybacks until the impact of COVID-19 on the American financial system has ended.
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
This bill prohibits an issuer of securities from purchasing their own securities during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency period and for 120 days thereafter. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may terminate the ban before the end of this period if the SEC (1) determines doing so is in the public interest, and (2) provides notice.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6339 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6339

 To temporarily ban stock buybacks until the impact of COVID-19 on the 
                  American financial system has ended.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2020

    Mr. Casten of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To temporarily ban stock buybacks until the impact of COVID-19 on the 
                  American financial system has ended.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TEMPORARY BAN ON STOCK BUYBACKS.

    (a) In General.--It shall be unlawful for any issuer, the 
securities of which are traded on a national securities exchange, to 
purchase securities of the issuer during the period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this Act and ending 120 days after the end of the 
COVID-19 emergency period.
    (b) Early Termination.--The Securities and Exchange Commission may 
terminate the prohibition under subsection (a) after the end of the 
COVID-19 emergency period and before the end of the 120-day period 
described under subsection (a), if--
            (1) the Commission determines such termination is in the 
        public interest; and
            (2) immediately notifies the Congress and the public of 
        such determination and the reason for such determination, 
        including on the website of the Commission.
    (c) Enforcement; Rulemaking.--
            (1) In general.--The Securities and Exchange Commission 
        shall have the authority to enforce this Act and may issue such 
        rules as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Commission voting.--Any action taken by the Commission 
        pursuant to this section may only be taken upon a unanimous 
        vote of the commissioners.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) COVID-19 emergency period.--The term ``COVID-19 
        emergency period'' means the period that begins upon the date 
        of the enactment of this Act and ends upon the date of the 
        termination by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the 
        emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President under 
        the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) relating to the Coronavirus 
        Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
            (2) Other definitions.--The terms ``issuer'', ``national 
        securities exchange'', and ``security'' have the meaning given 
        those terms, respectively, under section 3 of the Securities 
        Exchange Act of 1934.
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