Democratic Rep. Bill Keating from Massachusetts is the latest member of Congress to violate a federal conflict-of-interest law

• A member of Congress from Massachusetts is the latest congressman to violate a federal conflict-of-interest law.
• Rep. Bill Keating violated a provision of the STOCK Act by waiting too long to report two stock trades.

A Democratic member of the US House of Representatives just violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by being late to report individual stock trades he made in September.

Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, which in part requires members of Congress to file financial disclosures within 45 days of making a stock transaction.

Keating reported that he sold stock in Ross Stores valued between $1,000 and $15,000 and purchased stock in TJX Companies valued in the same range on September 9. He waited, however, until October 30 to report the trades, which was past the 45-day deadline.

Lawmakers are not required to provide the specific value of their trades, and instead, report them in broad ranges.

Keating's deputy chief of staff and communications director, Lauren Amendolara McDermott, told Insider in an email that Keating does not make his own stock trades — they are made by an investment firm on his behalf.

McDermott said Keating informed the House Ethics Committee about the transgression and that no fine was issued as the filings were only a few days late and "within the Committee's published grace period" — the House Ethics Committee generally waves fines for members of Congress who are no more than 30 days late in their financial disclosure reports.

The standard fine is $200.

Congress considering stock ban

As Keating continues to trade stocks, his peers in Congress are debating whether federal lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children should even be allowed to buy, sell, or hold individual stocks in the first place.

McDermott, Keating's deputy chief of staff and communications director, told Insider that the congressman "has fully supported both the STOCK Act and the Insider Trading Prohibition Bill as well as the TRUST in Congress Act because he believes it would be more easily conformed to and enforced."

After close to a year of waiting, House leaders unveiled a congressional stock trading ban in September. A portion of Democrats and good-government groups, however, said the proposed legislation was too broad to ever gain GOP support and is fatally flawed by including a loophole that allows for "fake" blind trusts.

To the chagrin of Republicans and Democrats who have been clamoring for this legislation, Congress paused any progress on the bill until the conclusion of November's midterm elections.

Since 2021, Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project, along with other news organizations, have uncovered 73 members of Congress who've violated disclosure provisions of the STOCK Act.

Two other members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation — Reps. Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan, both Democrats — have also violated the STOCK Act.