Are a Congress member's spouse and child trades reported?

What does the form require?

The House Ethics Committee's periodic transaction report form and instructions say that Members, and Officers and Employees who qualify as senior staff under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, must report the purchase, sale or exchange of stocks, bonds, commodities, futures or other securities (the form gives cryptocurrencies as an example) owned by themselves, their spouse or dependent children when the amount of the transaction exceeds $1,000. For sales, the threshold is based on the total dollar value of the transaction, not on the gain or loss.

The requirement comes from the law, not only the form. The STOCK Act of 2012 added a subsection to the Ethics in Government Act requiring a report of a covered transaction not later than 30 days after receiving notification of it, and in no case later than 45 days after the transaction. The law's text lists the persons covered, beginning with the President and the Vice President.

What are SP, DC and JT?

The form has an ownership column. According to the instructions, the filer "may, but is not required to" indicate that a transaction involves an asset held by a spouse or dependent child, or held jointly, by putting SP for spouse, DC for dependent child or JT for jointly held property. The instructions add that if the filer uses this distinction on the annual financial disclosure report, the filer should use it on the periodic transaction report as well.

This has a practical consequence. A line with SP in the ownership column was marked as a spouse's asset by the filer. A line with nothing in that column is not proven to be the member's own: the marking is optional on its face. The reverse holds too: no label means the form does not tell you whose account it is.

What is the column for assets over $1,000,000?

The form has a separate column, "Transaction in a Spouse or Dependent Child Asset over $1,000,000". The instructions say it should only be used for assets owned by the spouse or dependent child in which the member has no interest. How the usual categories work is in what the dollar ranges mean.

What is left out?

The same instructions list what need not appear on a periodic report. Among the exclusions are any transaction in real property, any transaction in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund, transactions solely by and between the member, spouse and dependent child, any transaction in a federal retirement program such as the Thrift Savings Plan, stock splits, and bequests or inheritances. The instructions note that some of these may still be required on the annual financial disclosure report.

The form's wording names the spouse and dependent children. It does not mention other relatives, so we state nothing about them.

What is the executive-branch equivalent?

For officials in the executive branch, the regulation on periodic reporting of transactions, 5 CFR 2634.309, uses the same $1,000 threshold, and its exceptions include transactions solely by and between the reporting individual, spouse and dependent children. The forms differ; see OGE Form 278e versus 278-T.

What does the signature certify?

The filer certifies that the statements are true, complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief, and that all transactions required by the STOCK Act have been disclosed. The instructions say the page must be signed by the filer personally, even if someone else prepared the report. Knowingly and willfully falsifying or failing to file may be subject to civil penalties and criminal sanctions, according to the form.

What does a worked reading look like?

As an illustration, suppose a report lists a purchase of a company's stock with SP in the ownership column, in the $15,001-$50,000 category, with a transaction date and a later notified date. Reading it step by step: the filer marked the asset as the spouse's; the amount is a category of the gross purchase price, not a profit; the filer was notified of the trade after it happened, and the deadline was the earlier of 30 days after notification or 45 days after the trade; and the signature certifies completeness. What the line does not give is the reason for the trade or who placed the order.

The same report with the ownership column empty would look the same apart from that one cell. That is the practical meaning of the labels being optional: they add information when present, and their absence is silent.

What this does not tell you

A report does not say who made the decision to trade, whether the member knew of it, or why it happened. A spouse's trade appears because the law requires the member to report it, and a report is not an allegation. The reports also arrive after the trade, up to 45 days later. OQRO lists the reports on its politician trades page as filed, with the ownership label where the filer gave one, keeps ranges as ranges, and does not infer motive or inside knowledge. For why disclosures arrive late, see why public disclosures are always late.