Is Congressional Stock Trading Banned Yet?

The short answer. No. On 22 July 2026 the House passed H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, by 232-198 — but a bill that has passed one chamber is not law. The Senate has not voted on it. Until it does, members of Congress may buy and sell shares exactly as before, subject only to the 45-day disclosure rule in the STOCK Act of 2012.

Checked 1 October 2026. Last change to the facts below: the House vote of 22 July 2026. If those dates are far apart, the legislative position may have moved since this was last edited.

Has the ban taken effect?

No. Nothing about what a member of Congress may legally buy changed on 22 July 2026. A bill becomes law when both chambers pass the same text and the President signs it. H.R. 7008 has cleared the first of those three steps.

The Senate has its own, stricter bill — S. 1498, led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R, Nebraska), which would ban members from owning individual shares rather than only from buying more. It passed committee and then stalled. The two texts would have to be reconciled before anything reaches the President's desk.

So what are the rules today?

How much trading has there been since the vote?

Since 22 July 2026, 1,082 disclosed congressional transactions have appeared in our database, out of 24,875 we hold in total. That count is read live and moves as filings arrive — remember that a trade made today may not be disclosed for up to 45 days, so the recent end of any congressional dataset is always thinner than reality.

The largest disclosed purchases since the vote:

Ranked by the top of each filer's disclosed range, because the STOCK Act requires a band rather than an exact figure. "Up to" is doing real work in that column.

For who has disclosed the most trading over the last twelve months, ranked by estimated value, see who trades the most stocks in Congress.

Is it legal for members of Congress to trade stocks?

Yes, today. Members, their spouses and their dependent children may buy and sell individual shares, provided each transaction over $1,000 is disclosed within 45 days under the STOCK Act of 2012, as a value band rather than an exact figure. Every total in every congressional trading tracker, this one included, is therefore built from those bands.

Public opinion is not what stands in the way of a ban: the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation found 86% support for one, at 87% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats and 81% of independents.

What the bill would change, clause by clause, is in the Stop Insider Trading Act explained; the rules in force today are those of the STOCK Act.

What this page cannot tell you

It cannot tell you what the Senate will do, and it does not guess. It cannot tell you about a trade made in the last 45 days that has not yet been disclosed. And the size column is a ceiling, not an amount: a filer reporting "$1,001 to $15,000" appears here at $15,000 because that is the only number the form gives.

Educational information, not financial advice. Figures on this page are read from the source filings when the page loads rather than written into the article. Dated events — votes, appointments, filings — are written down with their date and source, because those do not change.