Senate Democrats block congressional stock trading ban over voter ID ‘poison pill’

All Senate Democrats lined up against a bill restricting members of Congress from buying and selling stocks, utilizing the 60-vote filibuster to block the measure from becoming law.In a 53-47 vote, Democrats rejected the bill as a partisan piece of legislation due to the addition of a voter ID requirement borrowed from the SAVE America Act. Republicans argue photo ID should not be controversial, citing public support for the mandate in polling, but Democrats denounced the addition as a “poison pill” and an attempt at voter suppression. Recommended Stories The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), is one of the first serious efforts to combat insider trading in Congress since the STOCK Act became law in 2012. It would not apply to the executive branch and would allow lawmakers to keep their existing investments, but it would place restrictions on the sale of those investments and bar them from trading individual stocks. It was brought to the floor at a time when a record number of voters say government corruption is “widespread” — and that they trust Democrats more to address it. On the issue of stock trading alone, both parties have funneled tens of millions into ads declaring candidates’ support for a ban or highlighting the investments of their opponents.SENATE DEALMAKING FALLS TO THE WAYSIDE AS THUNE TEES UP DOOMED MIDTERM VOTESOn Capitol Hill, Wednesday’s vote amounted to a messaging exercise and was one of the final ones taken before senators break until after Election Day. The bill is being considered alongside GOP-backed legislation to shield consumers from the impact of data centers, although that, too, was poised to fail as Senate Democrats denounced it as “toothless.”Both measures passed the House with the support of Democrats, but the vote was more partisan in the case of the stock trading bill. Only 13 House Democrats joined Republicans to pass it in July.