Sponsors (34)
The bill strengthens prohibitions and enforcement to curb officials (and their families) from issuing or promoting securities and digital assets and to recover illicit gains, but it increases legal exposure, potential retroactive liability, and enforcement complexity that could chill lawful activity and create uncertainty.
Taxpayers and federal employees: high-level officials and their close family members would be banned from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting securities and digital assets during and around their service, reducing opportunities for conflicts of interest and official misconduct.
Taxpayers, investors, and harmed private parties: the bill creates enforceable remedies — disgorgement to the U.S. Treasury (including retroactive disgorgement for pre-enactment issuances), civil and criminal enforcement by DOJ, private suits by harmed parties, and treatment of promotions as continuing violations — improving deterrence and the ability to recover ill-gotten gains.
Taxpayers and federal decision-making: by discouraging issuance/promotion of financial instruments by officials, the bill lowers the risk of foreign influence and corruption in federal decision-making, supporting national security and public trust.
Federal employees, their spouses, and dependent children: the threat of civil and criminal exposure for promotional acts may chill lawful outside speech and ordinary commercial activity by family members of officials.
Federal employees, family members, and small businesses: disgorgement, up to $250,000 civil penalties, and possible criminal prosecution plus expanded private litigation create substantial legal and financial risk for officials and their associates.
Federal employees and financial institutions: the bill creates potential retroactive liability for actions taken before enactment, exposing individuals and firms to disgorgement or other penalties for past conduct.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Sam T. Liccardo · Last progress February 27, 2025
Prohibits covered federal officials, certain executive employees, and their spouses or dependent children from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting financial assets for private gain while in office and during limited periods before and after service. It creates civil enforcement (including disgorgement, fines up to $250,000, and a private right of action) and criminal penalties for serious or bribery-like violations, and treats such conduct as outside official duties for immunity purposes. The law defines covered people and assets, lets the Attorney General bring civil suits, allows private investors or competitors to sue, requires profits to be returned to the Treasury (including some retroactive disgorgement), and makes knowing violations criminal when they meet loss/benefit thresholds or amount to bribery or securities-law misconduct.