WASHINGTON (March 18, 2026) – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) today introduced the Stop Insider Trading Act to prohibit Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks and mandate a seven-day public notice period before any stock sales can be executed.
“Members of Congress shouldn’t cash in on information the public doesn’t have. That’s wrong,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Let’s put a stop to it.”
“No lawmaker should ever profit from insider information. Nebraskans send us to Congress to build a better country. Public service is a privilege, not a profit center,” said Senator Ricketts. “Trust in Congress remains at an all-time low. To fix that, we need to prove we are playing by the same rules as everyone else.”
The Stop Insider Trading Act will:
- Prohibit Members, spouses, and dependent children from purchasing any new stocks in publicly traded companies.
- Require public notice at least seven days, but no more than 14 days, in advance of any intended sale.
- Establish a penalty of $2,000 or 10% of the investment value, whichever is greater, plus the forfeiture of any net gain realized from the sale.
- Stop insider trading without preventing successful people from the private sector from serving.
Cassidy and Ricketts were joined by U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jon Husted (R-OH), Deb Fisher (R-NE), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Todd Young (R-IN) in introducing the legislation. This is the Senate companion bill to legislation led by U.S. Representative Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
