Stock market information overlaid on a photo of the US Capitol. (Photo illustration from Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure to curb stock trading by members of Congress that came with an independent voter ID law. This is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve greater federal involvement in elections.
The law was passed with a vote 232-198. All Republicans and 13 Democrats voted in favor.
The bill may face headwinds in the narrowly divided Senate, where 60 votes are needed for passage. The Republicans control the upper chamber with 53 members, while the Democrats control it with 47 members.
The House of Representatives passed The invoicesponsored by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., would require voters to present a current state-issued driver’s license or ID card, passport, valid military or veteran ID card or tribal government-issued identification card in order to vote.
The flagship bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, would ban members of Congress, their spouses and immediate family members from purchasing certain stocks and require a public notice and waiting period before selling shares.
Violators may face a penalty of $2,000 or 10% of the transaction value, whichever is greater, plus any net profits arising from the transaction over a specified period.
The bill would regulate investments issued by a publicly traded company. Some investments would be exempt, including widely held mutual funds and investments held in a trust. Transactions by a spouse or dependent made on behalf of another person or as part of an employment benefits package would also be exempt from tax.
Voter ID card
But it was the voter ID bill that drew the most attention as lawmakers debated the measure this week.
If a voter does not have one of the physical IDs listed, the bill would allow state election officials to issue a provisional ballot. The voter would then have three days to provide the accepted ID or an affidavit stating that the voter does not have one due to religious objections to being photographed.
Additionally, state officials would be prohibited from accepting mail-in ballots unless the voter includes a copy of a valid identification card, the last four digits of their Social Security number with an affidavit stating that they cannot obtain a photo ID, or a notarized statement that the voter completed their ballot in person.
During the House committee’s debate on the bill on Monday, Democrats criticized Republicans for removing a federal grant provision from the voter ID section of the bill that would have covered voters’ individual costs of obtaining IDs.
Democrats also advocated for the bill to go beyond state laws in Florida and Wisconsin, which are considered the strictest in the country.
As of April 2025, 36 states According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, some form of voter identification law has been in place, although the restrictions vary.
Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., asked Steil why Wisconsin state law allows some college IDs at the polls while its federal law does not.
“Many of your constituencies at various colleges and universities that you represent … are currently adhering to what others have described as the strictest voter ID law in the country by using their college ID. But your congressman is promoting a bill that would tell them they can no longer do that,” Neguse said.
“Good question,” Steil replied. “Universities across the country, including in my home state, issue ID cards to non-citizens and issue ID cards to illegal immigrants.”
Not as restrictive as the SAVE America Act
Tying voter ID legislation to a bill to restrict lawmakers’ stock trading appears to be a compromise by Republicans with the president’s desire for a more restrictive bill that has little to no chance of being approved by Congress.
Trump is pushing Republicans to pass an even more comprehensive federal election regulation bill called the SAVE America Act. This bill would require additional documents such as passports and birth certificates to register to vote. Critics say it would upend the state’s administration of elections.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has warned that there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass Trump’s preferred bill.
The president endorsed the bill in a prime-time address on July 16, when he released Evidence he said pointed to attempted election interference by China in 2020.
Experts say the released documents do not prove Trump’s claims, and critics viewed the speech as an attempt by the president to undermine confidence in the upcoming November midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the stock trading and voter ID bills Tuesday, saying, “Probably more than 9 in 10 Americans support both measures.” Johnson also said House Republicans would “continue to hammer” Trump’s election messages.
The Democrats protest
House Democratic leadership urged members to vote “no” on the bill because it would allow lawmakers and close family members to continue buying and selling stocks.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said Americans are “fed up” with federal lawmakers’ stock trading.
“They are fed up. Congress must enact a comprehensive ban on members of Congress, as well as the president, vice president and their family members, from owning or trading individual stocks or engaging in other financial transactions,” Scanlon said Monday.
Scanlon’s amendment to replace the GOP-sponsored stock trading law with Rhode Island Democrat Seth Magaziner’s more restrictive text The invoiceThe so-called “Restore Trust in Government Act” failed. Magaziner’s bill also includes restrictions on the president, vice president and their families.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called the bill a “bogus stock trading ban” in the House on Tuesday.
“I want to be clear: your bill does not block insider trading, no matter what it is called,” Jayapal said.
They also objected to the voter ID part.
The measure “would effectively gut mail-in voting by forcing Americans to include photocopies of their IDs along with their mailed ballots,” said House Minority Leader Katherine Clark’s email to members ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Additionally, Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, criticized the bill’s “limited selection of acceptable photo IDs for voting in a federal election.”
The Congressional Black Caucus issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the bill.
“House Republicans are not serious about passing a meaningful stock trading ban in Congress,” the Democratic-affiliated group said. “The combined Stop Insider Trading Act and Voter ID Act — which incorporates provisions of the voter-suppressive so-called SAVE America Act — would allow members of Congress to continue to own, sell and, in some cases, buy individual stocks while imposing stricter voter ID requirements that would make it more difficult for millions of eligible Americans to vote, including by mail.”
