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S 1171118th CongressFailed / ExpiredSenate

Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act

Policy Area: Congress
View on Congress.gov
Origin Chamber
Senate
Last Updated
Jan 9, 2026
Latest Action Date
Dec 19, 2024

Latest Action

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 729.

Official Summary

Official summary has not been imported yet.

GovScope Watchdog™

AI Government Intelligence™
Executive Summary

The Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act is a Senate bill from the 118th Congress aimed at prohibiting members of Congress from trading or holding stocks. The bill's goal is to address potential conflicts of interest by restricting congressional stock transactions. As of the latest update, the bill was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar but ultimately failed or expired without becoming law. No official summary or full text is available in the provided data, limiting detailed analysis of specific provisions.

Bottom Line

The ETHICS Act sought to ban stock trading and holdings by members of Congress to reduce conflicts of interest, but it did not pass and is no longer active legislation.

Policy Risk Level
🟡 Medium
Neutral Risk Assessment
Key Points
  • The bill originates from the Senate in the 118th Congress and is designated as S.1171.
  • It aims to prohibit members of Congress from trading or holding stocks, addressing ethics and conflict of interest concerns.
  • The bill was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar but ultimately failed or expired as of December 19, 2024.
Who Benefits?

['Members of the public seeking increased ethical standards and transparency in Congress', 'Government ethics oversight bodies', 'Potentially the broader financial markets by reducing perceived conflicts of interest']

Potential Concerns

['Lack of available full bill text limits understanding of enforcement mechanisms and specific prohibitions', 'Implementation challenges related to monitoring and enforcing stock trading restrictions for members of Congress', 'Potential legal and administrative costs associated with compliance and oversight', 'Unclear authority provisions and oversight responsibilities due to missing detailed legislative language']

Political Context

The bill was introduced in the Senate during the 118th Congress and placed on the legislative calendar but did not advance to passage. It falls within the policy area of Congress and ethics reform, reflecting ongoing legislative interest in addressing conflicts of interest among lawmakers. The failure or expiration indicates it did not secure sufficient legislative support or priority to become law during this session.

Hidden Impact Review

Hidden impact flags detected: 2

GovScope reviewed 2 policy-risk categories. Hover for a quick definition. Click detected flags for bill-specific details.

2 Detected
Detected Flags
Indirect Effects

['If enacted, the bill could increase public trust in Congress by reducing perceived conflicts of interest related to stock trading.', 'Potential reduction in financial conflicts for members of Congress might influence legislative decision-making dynamics.', 'Could lead to increased administrative burden on ethics oversight bodies to monitor compliance.']

GovScope Watchdog Notes

The lack of available full text and official summary limits transparency and public understanding of the bill's specific provisions and enforcement mechanisms. The bill's failure to pass means no changes to current congressional stock trading rules were implemented. Future transparency efforts would benefit from complete and accessible legislative documentation to enable thorough public and expert review.

Passage Likelihood: LowConfidence: 70%Model: gpt-4.1-mini

GovScope Intelligence Roadmap

Future bill intelligence will connect sponsors, committee referrals, related votes, campaign finance, disclosures, and stock trades into one legislative intelligence view.

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