Restore Trust in Congress Act

New investment limits for Members

This bill would bar Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependents from owning or trading certain "covered investments." Covered investments would include stocks, commodities, futures, and similar derivatives, but would exclude U.S. Treasury securities, state and local bonds, widely held diversified funds, small business interests, an LLC holding a Member's home, certain Alaska Native shares, and pay a spouse gets from their employer. People already covered on enactment would have 180 days to divest; people who become covered later or who acquire assets by marriage, inheritance, or divorce would have 90 days to divest. Qualified blind trusts would need to be cleared by the same deadlines, and supervising ethics offices could grant short extensions for low liquidity, vesting, or contractual restrictions, allow a narrow family-trust exemption, and must issue plain interpretive guidance. The bill would create a certificate-of-divestiture program tied to tax rules, and would impose a penalty equal to 10 percent of the investment value plus disgorgement of any violating profits payable to the U.S. Treasury; ethics offices would have to publish each fine and may not allow Members to pay fines from certain official or campaign-related funds.