> have been bills introduced to ban members of Congress from insider trading but, amazingly, they keep getting shot down in committee

This is incorrect. The STOCK Act banned insider trading by members of Congress in 2012 [1]. Disclosure requirements for staffers were amended in 2013 [2], but prohibitions on Congressmen remain in force [3].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act#Amendment

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_congressional_insider_tra...