Congress is considering pre-disclosing their stock trades. Some see a distraction from the need for a ban. [View all]

Source: Yahoo! Fnance

Sun, November 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM EST


A formal debate over lawmaker stock trading got underway on Capitol Hill this past week and injected a new term into the now years-long debate: pre-disclosure.

As lawmakers outlined it, pre-disclosure of stock trades could provide a way to limit congressional day trading while still allowing lawmakers to play the market.

"I think pre-disclosure is something that we ought to consider," offered the Manhattan Institute's James Copland as he testified before the House Administration Committee on Wednesday. He later noted, "This is exactly what happens in certain types of corporate situations."

The idea was immediately dismissed by advocates as a hollow idea that could undercut recent political momentum for their cause for the stronger measure of a ban on lawmaker trading. But the notion of forcing lawmakers to disclose their trades on the front end — as opposed to 45 days afterward as the rules now state — came up six separate times during the 82-minute hearing, according to Yahoo Finance's count.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/congress-is-considering-pre-disclosing-their-stock-trades-some-see-a-distraction-from-the-need-for-a-ban-163014062.html