- Rep. Bryan Steil plans to expand a congressional stock trading ban to explicitly include prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
- The proposed bill, H.R. 7008, would ban lawmakers and their families from buying stocks and impose significant fines for violations.
- This congressional move follows broader federal scrutiny, including Senate bans and a House Oversight investigation into prediction markets.
In Washington D.C. on Thursday, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) signaled plans to expand a congressional stock trading ban to include prediction market platforms, according to Bloomberg Government. This move directly targets platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, which allow users to bet on political and policy outcomes.
Steil stated, “I don’t think anyone believes that members of Congress should be making trades on elections or making trades on public policy.” The underlying bill, known as H.R. 7008, would completely prohibit lawmakers and their immediate families from purchasing publicly traded stocks.
Violators of the stock ban would face fines equal to $2,000 or 10% of the investment’s value, whichever is greater. Consequently, they would also be forced to forfeit any profits gained from the prohibited trades.
However, the bill’s current text does not explicitly cover digital assets or prediction markets. This legislative gap has prompted the proposed amendment following growing concerns about market integrity and national security.
The push in the House follows the Senate’s passage of a resolution in April banning its own members from such platforms. Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee, led by James Comer (R-KY), has launched investigations into Polymarket and Kalshi.
Federal scrutiny extends beyond Congress, as White House aides were instructed in March not to use prediction markets, Iran-war-3780668f” target=”_blank” class=”sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml”>per The Wall Street Journal. Steil expressed hope that the House could vote on the amended stock ban bill this summer.
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