PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA] · D–GA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Oct 2, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1879 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1879 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1879 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1879 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in Senate · 2025-05-22 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The bill, as introduced in the Senate on May 22, 2025, would require members of Congress, their spouses and their tax-dependent children under 19 to sell or otherwise give up investments such as stocks and contracts tied to investment prices, or put them in an ethics-approved trust that prevents them from controlling those investments. Members would generally have 120 days after enactment or taking office to comply, with limited extensions available. These family members generally could not acquire new investments subject to the bill during the member’s service, except through inheritance—which would also require giving up the investments or placing them in a trust—and restrictions on controlling investments would continue until 180 days after leaving Congress. Exceptions include mutual funds and exchange-traded funds with no stated policy of concentrating investments in a particular industry, business, foreign country or single state’s bonds; U.S. Treasury debt; pay from a spouse’s or dependent child’s main job; and investment funds in government employee retirement plans.
2025-05-22: Introduced in Senate
The term covered investment means— (i) an investment in a security, a commodity, or a future; and (ii) any economic interest comparable to an interest described in clause (i) that is acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, warrant, or other, similar means.
The term dependent child means, with respect to any Member of Congress, any individual— (A) who has not attained the age of 19; and (B) who is a dependent, within the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, of the Member of Congress.
The term qualified blind trust means a qualified blind trust (as defined in section 13104(f)(3)) that has been approved in writing by the applicable supervising ethics office under section 13104(f)(3)(D).
not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, each current Member 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 by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress.
not later than 120 days after the date on which an individual becomes a new Member of Congress, the individual 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 by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress.
the total period of time covered by all extensions granted to the Member of Congress for the covered investment shall not exceed 180 days; and (B) the period covered by a single extension shall be not longer than 45 days.
Subject to paragraph (2), and any applicable rules issued pursuant to subsection (h)(3), effective beginning on the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, a Member of Congress, and a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, may not acquire a covered investment.
a Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress who inherits a covered investment shall divest or place the covered investment in a qualified blind trust by not later than 120 days after the date on which the covered investment is inherited.
During the period beginning on the date on which an individual becomes a Member of Congress and ending on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the individual ceases to serve as a Member of Congress, the Member of Congress, and any spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, may not— (1) dissolve any qualified blind trust in which a covered investment has been placed pursuant to subsection (a), (b), (c)(2), or (d); or (2) except as provided in this section, otherwise control a covered investment.
The term covered investment does not include— (i) a diversified mutual fund (including any holdings of such a fund); (ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund (including any holdings of such a fund); (iii) a United States Treasury bill, note, or bond; (iv) compensation from the primary occupation of a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress; or (v) any investment fund held in a Federal, State, or local government employee retirement plan.
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, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State.
Covered investments would include securities, commodities, futures and comparable financial interests created through derivatives, such as options and warrants.
The term covered investment means— (i) an investment in a security, a commodity, or a future; and (ii) any economic interest comparable to an interest described in clause (i) that is acquired through synthetic means, such as the use of a derivative, including an option, warrant, or other, similar means.
Coverage would extend to direct and indirect interests held through investment funds, trusts other than qualified blind trusts, employee benefit plans and deferred compensation plans. Performance-linked compensation agreements would be included, except fixed cash payments.
The term covered investment includes an investment or economic interest described in subparagraph (A) that is held directly, or in which an individual has an indirect, beneficial, or economic interest, through— (i) an investment fund; (ii) a trust (other than a qualified blind trust); (iii) an employee benefit plan; or (iv) a deferred compensation plan, including a carried interest or other agreement tied to the performance of an investment, other than a fixed cash payment.
Diversified mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, their holdings, and U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds would be excluded. A fund would count as diversified if it had no stated policy of concentrating investments in an industry, business, single foreign country or bonds of a single state.
The term covered investment does not include— (i) a diversified mutual fund (including any holdings of such a fund); (ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund (including any holdings of such a fund); (iii) a United States Treasury bill, note, or bond;
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, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State.
The proposal would also exclude compensation from a spouse's or dependent child's primary occupation and investment funds held in federal, state or local government employee retirement plans.
(iv) compensation from the primary occupation of a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress; or (v) any investment fund held in a Federal, State, or local government employee retirement plan.
Meeting environmental, social and governance criteria would not, by itself, make an investment a covered investment.
An investment that achieves compliance with applicable environmental, social, and governance criteria shall not be considered to be a covered investment solely by reason of that compliance.
A dependent child would have to be under 19 and qualify as the member's dependent under the cited federal tax provision.
The term dependent child means, with respect to any Member of Congress, any individual— (A) who has not attained the age of 19; and (B) who is a dependent, within the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, of the Member of Congress.
A qualifying blind trust would have to satisfy the referenced existing-law definition and receive written approval from the applicable supervising ethics office.
The term qualified blind trust means a qualified blind trust (as defined in section 13104(f)(3)) that has been approved in writing by the applicable supervising ethics office under section 13104(f)(3)(D).
Members serving when the bill became law would have 30 days to certify that each covered family investment would be sold or placed in a qualified blind trust, or that none of them owned a covered investment.
The term current, with respect to a Member of Congress, means an individual who is serving as a Member of Congress on the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act.
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, each current Member of Congress shall submit to the applicable supervising ethics office a certification that, as applicable— (A) for each covered investment owned by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, the Member of Congress, or the applicable spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, will— (i) divest the covered investment; or (ii) place the covered investment in a qualified blind trust, including by establishing a qualified blind trust for that purpose, if necessary; or (B) neither the Member of Congress nor any spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress owns a covered investment.
Current members would generally have 120 days after enactment to sell covered family investments or place them in qualified blind trusts. An investment that could not be placed in a trust by the deadline would have to be sold unless an extension was obtained.
Subject to paragraph (3), not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, each current Member 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 by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress.
A current Member of Congress shall divest a covered investment held by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress if— (i) the Member of Congress, or the applicable spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, is unable to place the covered investment in a qualified blind trust by the date described in subparagraph (A); and (ii) the Member of Congress fails to obtain an extension pursuant to paragraph (3).
New members would have corresponding certification and disposal deadlines of 30 and 120 days after becoming a new member. The definition covers people who were not members at enactment and began serving afterward.
The term new, with respect to a Member of Congress, means an individual who— (A) is not a current Member of Congress; but (B) commences service as a Member of Congress after the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act.
Not later than 30 days after the date on which an individual becomes a new Member of Congress, the new Member of Congress shall submit to the applicable supervising ethics office a certification
Subject to paragraph (3), not later than 120 days after the date on which an individual becomes a new Member of Congress, the individual 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 by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress.
For both current and new members, the ethics office could grant reasonable extensions when an investment could not be placed in a trust on time. Each extension could last no more than 45 days, with no more than 180 days of extensions per investment.
If a current Member of Congress, or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, is unable to place a covered investment in a qualified blind trust by the date described in paragraph (2)(A), the Member of Congress may request, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 1 or more reasonable extensions
If a new Member of Congress, or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, is unable to place a covered investment in a qualified blind trust by the date described in paragraph (2)(A), the Member of Congress may request, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 1 or more reasonable extensions, subject to the conditions that— (A) the total period of time covered by all extensions granted to the Member of Congress for the covered investment shall not exceed 180 days; and (B) the period covered by a single extension shall be not longer than 45 days.
(A) the total period of time covered by all extensions granted to the Member of Congress for the covered investment shall not exceed 180 days; and (B) the period covered by a single extension shall be not longer than 45 days.
Beginning at enactment, members, spouses and dependent children would be prohibited from acquiring covered investments during service, subject to the inheritance provision and applicable ethics-office rules.
Subject to paragraph (2), and any applicable rules issued pursuant to subsection (h)(3), effective beginning on the date of enactment of the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, a Member of Congress, and a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, may not acquire a covered investment.
Inherited covered investments would have to be sold or placed in a qualified blind trust within 120 days of inheritance. The ethics office could grant extensions for difficulty placing an investment in a trust, limited to 45 days each and 180 days total.
a Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress who inherits a covered investment shall divest or place the covered investment in a qualified blind trust by not later than 120 days after the date on which the covered investment is inherited.
If a Member of Congress, or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, is unable to place a covered investment in a qualified blind trust by the date described in subparagraph (A), the Member of Congress may request, and the supervising ethics office may grant, 1 or more reasonable extensions, subject to the conditions that— (i) the total period of time covered by all extensions granted to the Member of Congress for the covered investment shall not exceed 180 days; and (ii) the period covered by a single extension shall be not longer than 45 days.
A spouse or dependent child could use the member's qualified blind trust for covered investments.
A spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress may place a covered investment in a qualified blind trust established by the Member of Congress under subsection (a)(1)(A)(ii) or (b)(1)(A)(ii).
From the start of congressional service until 180 days after leaving office, members and their covered family members could not dissolve trusts holding investments placed under these provisions or otherwise control covered investments, except as the section allows.
During the period beginning on the date on which an individual becomes a Member of Congress and ending on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the individual ceases to serve as a Member of Congress, the Member of Congress, and any spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress, may not— (1) dissolve any qualified blind trust in which a covered investment has been placed pursuant to subsection (a), (b), (c)(2), or (d); or (2) except as provided in this section, otherwise control a covered investment.
Ethics offices would have to publish certifications, trust agreements, required notices, enforcement documents, schedules of assets placed in trusts, and descriptions of extensions and civil penalties on their public websites.
Each supervising ethics office shall make available on the public website of the supervising ethics office— (A) a copy of— (i) each certification submitted to the supervising ethics office under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1); (ii) each qualified blind trust agreement of each Member of Congress; (iii) each notice and other documentation submitted to the supervising ethics office under paragraph (2) or (3); and (iv) each notice, rule, and other documentation issued or received by the supervising ethics office under subsection (g); (B) a schedule of all assets placed in a qualified blind trust by each Member of Congress and interested party; and (C) a description of each extension granted, and each civil penalty imposed, pursuant to this section.
Trustees would have to notify the member and ethics office when they learned that an interested party knew about trust property other than initially transferred property, when that initial property's value fell below $1,000, or when they sold initial property. The definition of initial property also includes qualifying transfers made after a trust was established.
Each trustee of a qualified blind trust established by a Member of Congress shall submit to the Member of Congress and the applicable supervising ethics office a written notice in any case in which the trustee— (A) learns that— (i) an interested party has obtained knowledge of any trust property other than the initial property of the qualified blind trust; or (ii) the value of the initial property of the qualified blind trust is less than $1,000; or (B) divests any initial property of the qualified blind trust.
The term initial property means an asset or financial interest transferred 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.
Members who were trust beneficiaries would have 30 days to file executed trust agreements, lists of transferred assets, copies of trustee notices, notices of discovering an interested party's knowledge of holdings, and notices of trust dissolution. Each deadline would run from the relevant event.
Each Member of Congress who is a beneficiary of a qualified blind trust shall submit to the applicable supervising ethics office— (A) a copy of the executed qualified blind trust agreement by not later than 30 days after the date of execution; (B) a list of each asset and each financial interest transferred to the qualified blind trust by an interested party by not later than 30 days after the date of the transfer; (C) a copy of each notice submitted to the Member of Congress under paragraph (2) by not later than 30 days after the date of receipt; (D) a written notice that an interested party has obtained knowledge of any holding of the qualified blind trust by not later than the date that is 30 days after the date on which the Member of Congress discovered that the knowledge had been obtained; and (E) a written notice of dissolution of the qualified blind trust by not later than 30 days after the date of dissolution.
The enforcement provision would require written notice of potential civil penalties for missed certification deadlines or specified failures to place investments in trusts, subject to extensions. Its trust-placement language contains an unresolved cross-reference.
The applicable supervising ethics office shall provide a written notice (including notice of the potential for civil penalties under paragraph (2)) to any Member of Congress who fails— (A) to submit a certification under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1) by the date on which the certification is required to be submitted; or (B) to place 1 or more covered investments owned by the Member of Congress or a spouse or dependent child of the Member of Congress in a qualified blind trust in accordance with subsection (a)(2), (b)(2), (c)(2)(C)(i)(II), or (c)(2)(A) by the applicable deadline, subject to any extension under subsection (a)(3), (b)(3), or (c)(2)(B).
The ethics office would be required to impose a civil penalty 30 days after notice and at least once every 30 days afterward. Each penalty would equal one month's congressional pay.
A supervising ethics office shall impose a civil penalty, in the amount described in subparagraph (B), on a Member of Congress to whom a notice is provided under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)— (i) on the date that is 30 days after the date of provision of the notice; and (ii) not less frequently than once every 30 days thereafter.
The amount of each civil penalty imposed on a Member of Congress pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be equal to the monthly equivalent of the annual rate of pay payable to the Member of Congress.
Legislative-branch ethics offices would be authorized to collect penalties, establish procedures and forms, issue rules adding or supplementing definitions, and publish documents and communications.
Each supervising ethics office in the legislative branch may— (1) impose and collect civil penalties in accordance with subsection (g); (2) establish such procedures and standard forms as the supervising ethics office determines to be appropriate to implement this section; (3) issue rules in accordance with this section to establish new, and supplement existing, definitions applicable to this section; and (4) publish on a website all documents and communications described in this subsection.
The supplied action snapshot, updated October 2, 2026, records introduction in the Senate on May 22, 2025, and referral that day to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs after two readings.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-02T11:03:20Z. 2025-05-22: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 2025-05-22: Introduced in Senate
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in Senate · 2025-05-22. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents or attachment history of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark materials are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied text contains narrow exclusions from investment restrictions. These classifications identify differential treatment, not improper motive or unjustified benefits.
Spouses and dependent children would receive an exclusion for compensation from their primary occupation. This is a family-employment carve-out from coverage that otherwise includes certain employee benefit and performance-linked deferred compensation interests.
The term covered investment includes an investment or economic interest described in subparagraph (A) that is held directly, or in which an individual has an indirect, beneficial, or economic interest, through— (i) an investment fund; (ii) a trust (other than a qualified blind trust); (iii) an employee benefit plan; or (iv) a deferred compensation plan, including a carried interest or other agreement tied to the performance of an investment, other than a fixed cash payment.
The term covered investment does not include—
(iv) compensation from the primary occupation of a spouse or dependent child of a Member of Congress;
Covered individuals holding investment funds through government employee retirement plans would receive a plan-specific exclusion. Unlike the mutual-fund and exchange-traded-fund exclusions, this exclusion does not expressly require diversification.
The term covered investment does not include— (i) a diversified mutual fund (including any holdings of such a fund); (ii) a diversified exchange-traded fund (including any holdings of such a fund);
(v) any investment fund held in a Federal, State, or local government employee retirement plan.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 2, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI