Senate Democrats block bill banning lawmakers' stock trades.

The Senate voted 53-47 Wednesday to block the Stop Insider Trading Act. The bill needed 60 votes to advance and failed along party lines.

• 13,324 trades totaling $635.6 million were executed by members of Congress last year, per a Common Cause study.
• 13 House Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill in July.
• The bill would bar lawmakers, spouses, and dependent children from buying publicly traded stocks.
• The bill also included a voter ID provision tied to federal elections, which Democrats called a poison pill.

Why it matters: Congressional stock-trading rules have not changed since the STOCK Act passed in 2012. That law requires disclosure of trades but has not reduced trading activity.

• The vote came as Senate Republicans face competitive reelection races and both parties are using the stock-trading issue in campaign messaging.

How 44 sources split on this story

Where they split: The core dispute is whether the bill was a genuine first step toward reform or a deliberately limited measure designed to fail while putting Democrats on record against a popular issue.

What’s next: The Senate is leaving Washington to campaign ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

• Republicans are expected to use the vote against Democrats in competitive Senate races.
• Would Democrats support a stricter bill that includes a full trading ban and covers executive branch officials, including the president?
• Will either party revive stock-trading legislation in the next Congress, regardless of which party controls the chamber?