(WKBN) — U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is once again calling to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.

Brown joined several other Senators today in Washington to promote the Ethics Act.

It would require members to cash out individual stocks and instead invest in a diversified “blind” trust. It would require the same of their spouses and minor children.

Violators would have to pay a month’s salary or 10% of the value of the traded asset, whichever is greater.

Brown says some members of Congress use information unavailable to the public to win stock market returns that consistently beat the market year after year. He says their stock portfolio may also influence how they write legislation and vote on bills.

“We know what position members of Congress can be in, and we know the temptations are too great for some members of Congress to resist,” Brown said. “That’s why this legislation is so important.”

Brown says he doesn’t own individual stocks and has been working on the legislation for over a decade.