In 2023 alone, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has pursued investigations of insider trading involving over sixty parties. (SEC Division of Enforcement Summary). Despite the growth of insider trading prosecution, the rules for insider trading and conflicts of interest remain only loosely enforced for members of Congress (Alicia Parlapiano et al., New York Times). This is problematic because members of Congress are routinely exposed to nonpublic information that can impact stock prices. (Id.). In fact, their trading activities as a whole remain largely unchecked as the existing framework to enforce insider trading and conflicts of interest in Congress is ineffective. (DeChalus et. al., Business Insider) In response, several bills were introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives. (Congress.gov).  Seventeen different bills were introduced in 2023, and one has already been introduced in 2024. Id. The most comprehensive and notable bills were introduced by Senator Kristin Gillibrand and Representative Katie Porter. (S. 2463, H.R. 6842). These bills (the “Bills”) seek to enhance the “trading bans and disclosure requirements for Congress, senior executive branch officials, and their spouses and dependents.” (S. 2463) Like the numerous other bills introduced in the past few years, the Bills are in the early phases and face an uphill battle to adoption. (Congress.gov).

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