Sell Your Stocks or Step Down Act
Sponsored By: Representative Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
Introduced
Summary
Bars federal leaders and their immediate families from owning or trading certain securities, commodities, digital assets, futures, and related derivatives. The bill defines who is covered, what investments count, sets 30‑day divestment deadlines, and creates penalties and enforcement tools for violations.
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- Covered public officials and their households must divest covered investments quickly. The definition of covered individuals includes the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, senior executive and judicial officials, and spouses and dependent children. Divestiture deadlines are 30 days after enactment or 30 days after becoming covered.
- Trading and non‑divestiture carry steep penalties. Failure to divest triggers a daily penalty of 10% of the investment's fair market value up to 50% total. Trading violations require payment equal to the investment's value plus $10,000 and disgorgement of profits.
- The rule lists what counts as a covered investment and several exclusions. Covered instruments include securities, commodities, futures, digital assets, event contracts, and synthetic positions. Widely held diversified funds, U.S. Treasury securities, municipal bonds, small business interests, primary residence LLCs, and certain Alaska Native stock are excluded.
*Penalties and disgorged amounts are deposited into the Treasury general fund to reduce the federal deficit.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Ban on senior officials' investments
If you are a covered individual (President, Vice President, Members of Congress, certain senior executive or judicial officials, or their spouse/dependent), you would not be allowed to own or trade covered investments while serving. Covered investments would include securities, commodities, futures, digital assets, event contracts, and derivatives, but the bill would exclude diversified public funds, U.S. Treasury securities, state and municipal bonds, interests in small businesses, certain residence LLCs, and specified Alaska Native stock. You would have to divest covered investments at fair market value within 30 days (30 days after enactment if covered then, 30 days after you become covered, or 30 days from certain post-enactment acquisitions). Sales under this rule would not qualify for rollover under Internal Revenue Code section 1043, and you could not buy covered investments while subject to the prohibition.
Steep penalties and collection powers
If you fail to divest, a daily fee would start the day after the deadline equal to 10% of the value of the violating portfolio each day, up to a total cap of 50% of that value. If you buy or trade in violation, the ethics office could require payment equal to the investment's value plus $10,000 and require you to give up any profits from the trade. Penalties and disgorged amounts would be deposited into the Treasury general fund for deficit reduction, and you could not pay those fines with appropriated or official U.S. resources (Members of Congress face extra payment limits). The supervising ethics office could demand records, issue administrative subpoenas, collect by administrative offset from U.S. pay or pensions, publish each fine and its reason, and refer unpaid amounts after 60 days for civil action.
Spouse trading allowed for professionals
If you are the spouse or dependent child of a covered individual, you would be allowed to trade a covered investment only when the investment is not owned by the covered official and trading is your primary occupation. The exception would apply only to spouses or dependent children of the specified covered officials named in the subchapter. This exception would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
VA • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov