A new legislative proposal introduced Wednesday by New Hampshire Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander and Pennsylvania Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick would extend public official restrictions on prediction market trade activity. While similar legislation is currently being considered, the new bill would extend public official restrictions on PM trading to include the individuals and direct kin of POTUS, the vice president, and all members of Congress. It would also ban prediction market trading for high-level judges, including all nine Supreme Court justices.
Citing the existence of “many, many loopholes” for members of Congress to evade current prediction market trading restrictions, Rep. Goodlander took to social media Wednesday to explain the proposal. “We have a very straightforward, common-sense bill that’s going to apply across all three branches of our government, and it’s going to put a… ban on owning and trading individual stocks, and in participating in prediction markets,” posted the Democratic congresswoman.
Rep. Goodlander and co-author Rep. Fitzpatrick both have a professional background in law enforcement. The former was an official adviser to Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice, while the latter was an FBI special agent and federal prosecutor. The official name of the proposal is the Public Service Accountability Act.
In a press release that went live on Wednesday, Congressman Fitzpatrick added his thoughts on the proposed prediction market participation ban on high-ranking public officials. “Public service is a duty, not an investment strategy,” stated the former FBI special agent and federal prosecutor.
“The American people deserve to know that their leaders are making decisions based on the national interest, not personal financial gain. By closing loopholes around stock trading and prediction markets, this bipartisan legislation sets a clear standard across all three branches: if you are entrusted with public power, your obligation is to the people — not your portfolio.”
Marshall Cohen, a senior reporter for CNN, provided a summary of which public officials are barred from trading in prediction markets by the bill. The Northwestern University graduate’s post on X Wednesday says that all members of Congress, the president of the United States, the vice president, their spouses, and their dependents are included in the proposed stock trading and prediction market ban.
Furthermore, the legislation would cover all nine Supreme Court justices, all federal judges, and senior judicial branch employees. “I believe this goes further than the other recent bills, by including the judiciary. And if caught, violators would lose profits and pay a fine worth 10% of their trades,” posted Cohen.
The Goodlander-Fitzpatrick bill was introduced approximately two months after three candidates were banned by Kalshi for political insider trading. Each individual accused in those investigations was fined and had their Kalshi account suspended for a period of five years.
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