In short
- Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) wants to add language to the House of Congress to ban stock markets to cover futures markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
- As currently written, the bill prohibits lawmakers and their families from buying new shares and punishes violators with fines.
- The move follows a major federal push against the prediction markets, including a Senate ban on member refunders and a House Oversight investigation.
The restrictions that lawmakers would face under a bill that seeks to stop insider trading on Capitol Hill should also apply to futures markets, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) signed it Thursday.
Steil, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, told reporters at a roundtable that lawmakers want to add language to the stockbroker bill to block platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, Bloomberg Government.
“In talking to members and the general public, I don’t think anyone believes that members of Congress should do business in elections or do business in politics,” he said.
The bill, known as HR 7008, prohibits lawmakers, spouses, and dependents from buying publicly traded stocks, and requires them to file notices of “intent to sell” publicly disclosed at least seven days before the sale. Violators face fines equal to $2,000 or 10% of the value of the funds – whichever is greater – plus forfeiture of any profits.
The bill, which was reported to the House in February, does not deal with the digital economy in its own right The latest version. Steil’s comments come amid growing dissent from lawmakers who argue the platforms could undermine market integrity or threaten national security, often pointing to the US military. he says he works in the military in Venezuela.
The bill had been idle since it cleared committee hurdles in February and was added to the chamber’s calendar, making it eligible for debate and a vote before the Senate had a chance to review it.
Late last month, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-KY), he started A study by Polymarket and Kalshi, stating that “the growth of commercial activity in the market prediction shows that the intervention of DRM may be necessary.”
The push to limit lawmakers’ use of prediction markets follows the Senate paragraph of the decision in April to ban members from the platforms. The ruling was the first major law prohibiting government officials from making such bets
Meanwhile, White House aides were advised in March not to invest in the prediction markets, The Wall Street Journal. The order reportedly came a day after President Donald Trump made a public announcement about the war in the Middle East.
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