Congress moves to ban stock trading by federal officials and their families
H.R. 10199 — Sell Your Stocks or Step Down Act · Filed by Eugene Vindman (D-VA) · Introduced Aug 31, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill prohibits the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, senior federal officials, federal judges, and their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading stocks, commodities, digital assets, and prediction market contracts while in office or employed in covered positions. Violators must divest within 30 days and face daily penalties of up to 10% of the portfolio value (capped at 50% total) for non-compliance, plus $10,000 per violation and disgorgement of profits; penalties cannot be paid from official resources or campaign funds and are deposited into the Treasury for deficit reduction.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a blanket prohibition on covered investments for federal officials and their families, enforced through divestiture requirements and escalating financial penalties. This is a structural ethics reform aimed at eliminating conflicts of interest in government, not a market intervention or industry carve-out.
What the text implies
- The occupational exception for spouses and dependent children (§13152(d)) may create a loophole: a spouse working as a financial advisor or trader can continue to trade covered investments on behalf of clients, potentially allowing indirect family benefit from market movements.
- The 30-day divestiture window is tight but may incentivize fire-sales of positions, potentially depressing prices for affected officials and creating a one-time market dislocation in equities held by high-net-worth federal employees.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The bill directly addresses conflicts of interest by preventing federal officials and their families from trading on non-public information or holding financial stakes in industries they regulate, reducing corruption risk and improving public trust in government. The broad scope—covering the President, Congress, judges, and senior executives—closes a significant accountability gap, though the 30-day divestiture window and spousal/dependent carve-out for occupational trading create minor loophole