This bill prohibits Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning or trading stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, or any other form of security from a defense contractor or which are significantly based upon defense contractors.
Each current Member must divest within 120 days after the bill is enacted and each new Member must divest within 120 days after becoming a Member. However, Members and their spouses have 180 days to divest from specified complex investment vehicles. Placing assets into qualified blind trusts does not qualify as divestment.
The bill does not apply to certain investments, such as investments in widely held investment funds that are diversified and do not present a conflict of interest and investments held in government employee retirement plans.
A Member or spouse who violates the bill may be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 for each violation. The bill permits a Member, spouse, or dependent child who is required to divest property under the bill to avoid recognizing gain for income tax purposes from the sale of that property to the extent that the Member or spouse purchases permitted bonds or diversified investment funds within 60 days of the divestiture.
