At this point, lawmakers are very much allowed to do whatever extra-curricular activity they desire, including trading stocks. However, a recent poll shows that a majority of voters would prefer that lawmakers should be banned from this activity. The question of whether they should effectively be stopped from trading, therefore, remains topical. This article by Kedric Payne is published by Campaign Legal Center. Here is an excerpt:

The undeniable truth is that sunlight alone will not disinfect the congressional stock trading problem. The first 10 years of the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act proved that stock trading disclosure laws without stock trading restrictions make the problem worse, which means reform is inevitable. 

Comparing the repercussions from compliance and noncompliance with the STOCK Act demonstrates the fatal flaw of relying on a disclosure-only law to combat insider trading.   

When lawmakers comply with the disclosure law and promptly report their stock transactions, they often raise unresolved questions of noncompliance with the insider trading ban. For example, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) timely reported that his wife bought stock in steel company Cleveland-Cliffs.  

Read the full story here.