Members of Congress can legally trade individual stocks — but under the 2012 STOCK Act they must publicly disclose most trades within 45 days. That disclosure is what makes tracking them possible.

The penalty for a member of Congress filing a late stock-trade disclosure is often just a $200 fine — small enough that some pay it repeatedly rather than report on time.

About 3% of the congressional stock trades disclosed in the 12 months ending 2026-07-09 were filed late — past the STOCK Act's 45-day deadline. The penalty is often just a $200 fine.