HR5106-119

What This Bill Does

The Restore Trust in Congress Act adds a new subchapter to title 5 governing congressional investment conflicts. It defines covered individuals to include Members of Congress, spouses, dependent children, and certain trusts holding covered investments for them. Covered investments include securities, commodities, futures, derivatives, options, warrants, or comparable synthetic interests, but exclude diversified public funds, Treasury securities, state or municipal bonds, spouse or child employment compensation, small business interests, a residence-holding LLC, and certain Alaska Native settlement stock. Covered individuals generally may not directly or indirectly own or trade covered investments. Current covered individuals must divest within 180 days; new covered individuals have 90 days; later acquisitions by marriage, inheritance, divorce settlement, or other circumstances also have a 90-day divestment clock. Ethics offices issue certificates of divestiture, can grant narrow family trust exemptions and extensions for low liquidity or contractual restrictions, and must issue interpretive guidance. Violations trigger a 10 percent fee based on investment value, disgorgement of profits to the Treasury, limits on using official or campaign funds to pay House Member penalties, and public website disclosure of fines and outcomes.

Who Benefits and How

Voters benefit because Members of Congress and immediate family face stricter limits on trading investments that could create conflicts of interest. Congressional ethics offices benefit from explicit divestiture deadlines, certificate authority, exemption rules, and penalty tools. Diversified fund investors benefit because widely held diversified funds remain available to covered individuals. Public-interest watchdog organizations benefit from public disclosure of assessed fines, reasons, and outcomes.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Members of Congress must stop purchasing covered investments and divest existing holdings by the applicable deadline. Congressional spouses and dependent children must comply unless a trade is part of their primary occupation and the investment is not owned by a covered individual. Family trusts holding covered investments face divestiture unless they meet narrow exemption conditions. Supervising ethics offices must process proof of compliance, certificates, exemptions, extensions, guidance, fines, and public disclosures.

Key Provisions

• Defines covered individuals and covered investments for congressional trading restrictions.
• Prohibits covered individuals from owning or trading covered investments unless an exception applies.
• Requires divestiture within 180 days for current covered individuals and 90 days for new covered individuals.
• Authorizes certificates of divestiture, family-trust exemptions, and extensions for liquidity or contractual barriers.
• Provides a 10 percent fee, disgorgement, Treasury deposits, House payment limits, and public fine disclosures.