Bill · S. 3649· Senate(119-S-3649)
Restore Trust in Congress Act
- Introduced
- 1/15/2026
- Last activity
- 1/15/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Sponsored by
- Ashley Moody
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Restore Trust in Congress Act aims to amend title 5 of the United States Code to restrict how Members of Congress and their families handle certain investments. Under this bill, covered individuals—including Members, their spouses, and their dependent children—would be prohibited from owning or trading covered investments like stocks, commodities, or futures. To comply, these individuals must divest their holdings within specific timeframes, such as 180 days for those currently serving. The bill provides exceptions for things like widely held diversified investment funds, U.S. Treasury bills, and certain family trusts. It also establishes penalties for violations, including fees and the requirement to give up profits from illegal transactions.
Yes
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+7
The bill requires ethics offices to publish descriptions of fines, reasons for fines, and assessment results on a public website.
Would union members be better off under this?+2
By restricting individual stock trading for lawmakers, the bill aims to reduce potential conflicts of interest that impact broader economic fairness.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Divestment Requirements: Members of Congress and their families must sell off covered investments, which helps ensure they are not holding specific securities while in office (Section 13152(a)).
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Treatment of Diversified Funds: The bill allows individuals to keep investments in widely held, diversified, and publicly traded funds, which avoids forcing people to liquidate all forms of wealth (Section 13151(3)(B)(i)).
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Protection for Local Real Estate: An exception is made for limited liability companies held solely for the purpose of a Member's personal residence, protecting their home interests (Section 13151(3)(B)(vi)).
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Occupational Flexibility: Spouses or dependent children can still trade investments if the trade is part of their primary job and they don't own the specific investment being traded (Section 13152(d)).
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Transparency through Public Reporting: Ethics offices must publish descriptions of all fines assessed, the reasons for those fines, and the results on a public website (Section 13153(c)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Mandatory Divestiture: Covered individuals are required to sell their investments at fair market value within strict deadlines, such as 180 days or 90 days (Section 13152(b)).
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Financial Penalties: Individuals who violate the rules face a fine equal to ten percent of the investment's value and must hand over any profits made from the illegal transaction (Section 13153(a)(1)).
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Strict Payment Restrictions: Members of Congress are prohibited from using their official office expense accounts or campaign contributions to pay these assessed penalties (Section 13153(b)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+7
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Union Workers+2
- 3/18/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/15/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
3 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Kirsten GillibrandDemocrat · New York
Todd YoungRepublican · Indiana