US Senate to consider ban on stock trading by members of Congress — CNBC

The US Senate is set to hold procedural votes on Wednesday, September 30, on two bills: one to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office and another concerning large data centers’ spending on energy infrastructure. Republicans plan to bring the documents up for consideration ahead of a more than month-long recess before the midterm elections, CNBC reports.

Neither bill is expected to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome the procedural hurdle in the Senate, as Democrats have said they object. Republicans may use the votes in the election campaign ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

Data center costs

The House of Representatives approved the Ratepayer Protection Act earlier this month by 417 votes to three. It provides for a regulatory framework that states could use to require large artificial intelligence data centers to pay for energy infrastructure costs themselves rather than shifting them onto consumers.

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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized the initiative, calling it nonbinding and insufficiently effective. Martin Heinrich, the leading Democrat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, had previously blocked expedited consideration of the document, citing similar concerns.

Restrictions for members of Congress

The other bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, was passed by the House of Representatives in July by 232 votes to 198. The document would prohibit sitting members of Congress from buying individual stocks but would not require them to sell their existing investment portfolios. The absence of a divestment requirement was one of the objections raised by Democrats who support a stricter ban.

Republicans also added a voter identification provision to the bill, which Democrats largely oppose. Schumer called the provision a “poison pill” for the legislative initiative.