S. 1171, Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on July 24, 2024
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2024
2024-2029
2024-2034
Direct Spending (Outlays)
0
0
0
Revenues
0
-1
-3
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit
0
1
3
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)
0
*
not estimated
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2035?
No
Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?
Yes
Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2035?
No
Contains intergovernmental mandate?
No
Contains private-sector mandate?
No
* = between zero and $500,000.
Summary
S. 1171 would prohibit Members of Congress, the President, the Vice President and their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading certain financial assets. The sale of assets that have appreciated in value would typically trigger tax liability on those capital gains. However, the tax code allows those required to divest property in order to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict to obtain a certificate of divestiture, which allows them to reinvest the proceeds of a required sale into certain approved assets (such as U.S. Treasuries or diversified mutual funds) and to defer the taxable realization of the capital gains until those assets are sold in the future.
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended, stipulates that revenue estimates provided by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) will be the official estimates for all tax legislation considered by the Congress. As such, CBO incorporates those estimates into its cost estimates of the effects of legislation.
For this estimate, CBO and JCT assume that the bill will be enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2025.
JCT estimates that enacting S. 1171 would reduce revenues by $3 million over the 2024-2034 period.
