At this point, lawmakers are very much allowed to do whatever extra-curricular activity they desire, including trading stocks. However, a new poll shows that a majority of voters would prefer that lawmakers should be banned from this activity. This article by Karl Evers-Hillstrom is published by The Hill. Here is an excerpt:

Three-quarters of voters agree that members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks while serving in office, according to a new poll released Thursday. 

The survey, commissioned by conservative advocacy group Convention of States Action, found that 76 percent of voters believe that lawmakers and their spouses have an “unfair advantage” in the stock market. Just 5 percent of respondents approved of members trading stocks, while 19 percent gave no opinion.

“In an era of hyper-partisanship, voters in all parties agree that members of Congress should not be enriching themselves using ‘insider information’ while serving the people,” Mark Meckler, the group’s president, said in a statement. “This issue has received a lot of attention, and this data verifies the American people want this practice to end once and for all.”

Read the full article here.