H.R. 5106: Restore Trust in Congress Act

The bill takes a hard-line approach to congressional investing. It would ban Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from directly or indirectly owning or trading most covered investments, including stocks, commodities, futures, and similar financial products created through derivatives. In plain terms, it tries to cut off the most obvious ways lawmakers and their families could profit from information, influence, or even the appearance of insider advantage.

The measure does not ban everything. It allows broadly diversified mutual funds and similar widely held funds, along with U.S. Treasury securities, state and local bonds, certain small-business interests, and some narrowly defined real-estate holding arrangements tied to a personal residence. That means the bill is designed to steer lawmakers away from betting on specific companies or sectors while still letting them save and invest in more hands-off ways.

The bill also sets deadlines to clean up existing holdings. Current covered individuals would generally get 180 days after enactment to divest, while new Members or newly covered family members would get 90 days. If someone gets a prohibited asset through inheritance, marriage, or divorce rather than buying it, they would also have 90 days to sell it. Ethics offices could grant extra time when assets are hard to sell because of low liquidity, vesting schedules, or contract limits.

A notable feature is the enforcement structure. Violators could be ordered to pay a fee equal to 10% of the investment's value and give up profits from transactions that break the rules. The bill also connects covered individuals to the federal certificate of divestiture program, which can help defer certain tax consequences when officials are required to sell assets because of conflict-of-interest rules. Politically, the bill's bipartisan cosponsor list is a sign that the congressional stock-trading issue still has broad public appeal, though the details of enforcement, family-member exceptions, and trust arrangements are likely to draw the toughest debate.