Congressional stock trading ban bill to get its first vote Wednesday

Lawmakers could look a prohibition connected buying caller stocks nether a measure poised to get its archetypal ballot Wednesday.

But hurdles remain, including absorption from most Democrats who accidental the measure doesn't spell acold capable successful preventing insider trading among lawmakers. 

The bill's main backer, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairs the House Administration Committee, which is expected to vote and follow the measurement Wednesday. 

"Your subordinate of Congress should not beryllium time trading stocks," Steil said successful an interrogation with CNBC. "You privation to time trade? There's a spot for that and it's called Wall Street."

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told CNBC that if the measure is approved by committee, helium volition bring it to the level for a vote. It's unclear if the measure volition beryllium able to pass the afloat House. House Democratic enactment hasn't weighed successful connected the measure yet, and members are hoping to connection amendments during Wednesday's markup to fortify the bill.

Steil's measure is simply a watered-down mentation of erstwhile efforts to prohibition insider trading among lawmakers. The measurement would let members to support the stocks they owned erstwhile they were elected. Members could merchantability stocks, arsenic agelong arsenic they gave nationalist announcement 7 days earlier the sale. Lawmakers would beryllium capable to bargain and merchantability commodities, futures, and diversified funds, and could usage dividends of stocks to acquisition much shares of stocks they own. 

Steil's measure would besides summation fees for violations, ratcheting up fines to $2,000, oregon 10% of the worth of transaction, immoderate is greater, oregon the nett summation from the transaction. 

Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the apical Democrat on the House Administration Committee called the measure a "quarter measure."

"This is simply a mode to get radical to judge that we've resolved the issue," helium told CNBC during an interrogation successful the Capitol. "There's excessively galore ways to get astir this. It fundamentally says, if you person large wealth, and you travel to Congress, you tin proceed to person large wealth. And that's not what we want."

Steil brushed disconnected concerns that the authorities didn't spell arsenic acold arsenic others, saying that sidesplitting immoderate measure that was deemed "not rather bully enough" would forestall advancement connected the issue.

"It's what I telephone the Goldilocks argument. The porridge is excessively cold. The porridge is excessively hot," helium said. "This is an accidental to accidental yay oregon nay. Do you judge your subordinate of Congress should beryllium trading stocks portion they're successful elected office?"

Democrats are coming up with their ain plans. Morelle said helium intends to record a discharge petition to unit a ballot connected a measure from himself and Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., that would not lone forestall members of Congress from trading stocks, but the president and vice president arsenic well.