Senate Democrats will not release a bill to ban stock trading on Capitol Hill until after the elections.
It's not going to happen before the election according to Sen. Jeff Merkley.
On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said the House could vote on a bill this month.
The legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks won't be introduced until after the election, according to a senator.
Merkley told Insider that he was looking forward to getting this across the finish line, but it wouldn't happen before the election.
In February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer formed a working group to develop consensus legislation that would stand a chance of passing the evenly divided Senate.
Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation revealed widespread violations of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. Legislation was put in place to address the problem.
"I feel like we've made a lot of progress toward a consensus bill," he said. There are a lot of bills lined up for the next few days.
Insider was told by two other members of the Senate working group that they couldn't confirm what Merkley had said. Neither would deny it.
Jon Ossoff did not have a comment.
A stock trading bill should be on the floor and voted on by congress.
Pelosi told reporters that the House may vote on legislation to ban congressional stock trading this month.
She told reporters at her weekly press conference that she believes they have a product that can be brought to the floor. It's very strong and I'm happy with it.
The decision to put the much-awaited legislation into this year's lame-duck session, when lawmakers may feel less pressure from the public so soon after an election, could jeopardize the potential for enactment of the widely- popular reform this Congress.
In a statement to Insider, Walter Shaub, a senior ethics fellow at the Project on Government Oversight, ripped into Merkley, saying that he was a bad person.
Shaub said he was not surprised to hear that the senator's position was his. He took control of the group and slowly walked it for over two years. It's a tragic missed opportunity.
He said that he has never felt so close to fixing an ethical problem in his life.
He said that he has been fighting to end the practice of stock trading for the last decade. "Our candidates are much more aware of it, our entire membership continues to see how it creates a real conflict of interest if you have a personal portfolio and you serve the public."
The legislation being hammered out by Senate Democrats will include a ban on spouses from trading stocks, closing a potential loophole in the existing legislation, according to a report.
He said that they have reached a consensus on almost everything. We cannot grab the brass ring yet. It's not going to get on the floor because of the bills that are already in place before the election.
The details of the legislation being hammered out by House Democratic leadership raises questions about whether the House and Senate versions will have significant differences.
"I'll look at what the House does when it acts," said Merkley. Several House proponents of stock-ban legislation say they don't know what's going on.
One of the leading proponents of a bill to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks was able to confirm the lack of communication from House leadership.
She said there were no returned phone calls or emails.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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