WASHINGTON (TNND) — Florida Republican Representative Neal Dunn has become the latest member of Congress to violate the STOCK Act by failing to disclose a stock purchase made by his wife within the required timeframe. According to a recent congressional filing, Dunn was over a month late in reporting his wife's purchase of up to $50,000 worth of stock.

The STOCK Act, which stands for the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, was enacted in 2012. It prohibits members of Congress and their staff from using nonpublic information gained from their positions for personal financial gain through stock trading. The act mandates that members of Congress must report any stock trade made by themselves, their spouses, or their children within 45 days.

Dunn is not alone in violating the act. Raw Story reports that at least 62 members of the 118th Congress have breached the STOCK Act's requirements.

There is a growing bipartisan push to ban stock trading among members of Congress. A recent poll from the University of Maryland indicates that more than 80% of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents support such a ban, citing concerns that lawmakers have an unfair advantage due to their access to early and sometimes classified information.

The issue of congressional stock trading has gained momentum, with a recent report from The Motley Fool highlighting that 113 members of Congress made over 9,000 trades in 2024, involving 706 million shares or other assets. The technology, financial services, and energy sectors are among the most popular for congressional stock trades, with top stocks including Microsoft, Apple, and JPMorgan Chase.

Two bipartisan bills have been introduced to address these concerns. The No Corruption in Government Act aims to prevent stock trading, end automatic annual pay raises, and extend the lobbying ban for members of Congress.

“Serving in Congress should be an opportunity to deliver for your community, not to enrich yourself,” said Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. “By preventing Members of Congress from trading stocks, receiving yearly pay raises, and turning to lobbying shortly after their term, more lawmakers will be accountable to their constituents and be in the work of governing for the right reasons.”

“Our government is supposed to be of the people, for the people, and by the people. We must return transparency, accountability, and integrity to our nation’s capital,” said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa). “We need common sense in Washington so that our federal government always acts in the best interest of the American people – not for personal gain.”

The Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act seeks to ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks.

“The American people should have faith that Congress is at work for the good of the country, not for their own bank accounts. For years I have been working to address the problem of stock trading in Congress, first introducing the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act with Rep. Abigail Spanberger back in 2020,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “Now that Abigail has retired, I am proud to reintroduce this critical and bipartisan legislation alongside my friend Rep. Magaziner, D-R.I. We have a long road ahead to address this Congress, but we can and should fix the problem during this term. We have the will and the mandate of American people to do this. Let's deliver.”

“Trust in Congress is at an all-time low, but we can strengthen the integrity of our government by ensuring Members of Congress are serving their constituents and not their stock portfolios,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan, commonsense bill with Representative Chip Roy to ban Members of Congress — and their families — from trading individual stocks, so that we can hold Washington accountable to the people it serves.”

The passage of these types of bills has faced challenges, with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noted as a significant obstacle due to her husband's extensive stock trading activities. OpenSecrets reports Mr. Pelosi trades tens of millions of dollars in stocks and stock futures annually.