WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved legislation Wednesday that would bar members of Congress from purchasing individual stocks, advancing an ethics proposal that lawmakers in both parties have long championed but repeatedly failed to enact.Some Democrats sided with the Republican majority in the 232-198 vote that came as lawmakers prepared to return home and campaign ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans working to show action on an issue that has become a symbol of voter distrust.But the breakthrough was tempered by Republican provisions in the bill that would exempt the president from the trading ban and from the inclusion of an unrelated voter identification requirement, drawing opposition from many Democrats. The bill’s passage in the Senate remains uncertain. “This bill, quite simply, is a sham,” Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat, said on the House floor ahead of the vote. He called the voter identification provision a “poison pill” designed to sink the legislation.
Supporters nevertheless hailed the bill, known as the Stop Insider Trading Act, as the most significant congressional action yet to restrict stock trades by members of Congress. “I had legislation that would have required divestiture. I preferred that approach,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “But you got to build a coalition in a body. And I think this is a giant step forward.”
