Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution Thursday that would amend the House rules to ban members and their staff from trading on prediction markets.
“No Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives” may engage in purchasing or selling on prediction markets, the resolution says, referring to agreements or contracts that are dependent on the occurrence of specific events.
Hinson’s proposal mirrors one approved by unanimous consent in the Senate last week, in which senators agreed to amend the chamber’s standing rules to ban senators and staff from engaging in prediction markets. It also has similar language to an amendment that was added to the Senate resolution making clear it does not apply to insurance.
The proposals are the latest example of lawmakers seeking to place restrictions on using their positions for financial gain.
“Members of Congress shouldn’t be able to use insider knowledge to make a profit,” Hinson said in a statement. “We should take immediate action to ensure DC politicians can’t make money off of our policies they are influencing.”
The House returns from a week-long recess next Tuesday. Hinson said she is pressing House Republican leadership to bring the resolution to the floor “immediately.”
“It should receive unanimous support,” she said.
Included in Hinson’s resolution is a non-binding statement that notes it is the “sense of the House of Representatives that the executive branch and judicial branch should establish restrictions similar” to those established by the legislation.
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