WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday blocked legislation that would have restricted members of Congress from buying new stock in publicly traded companies, with Democrats arguing the bill was too weak to count as real reform.

The Stop Insider Trading Act, sponsored by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), failed on a 53-47 vote — short of the 60 needed to advance — with no Democrats crossing over to support it, according to CNBC. The measure would have barred sitting lawmakers from purchasing new shares of public companies and required advance notice before selling existing holdings, but it would have let members keep stocks they already owned and still buy into private companies.

Schumer Calls It 'Feeble'

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the bill as a token gesture. The Hill reported Schumer called Ricketts's proposal "a permission slip for corruption, not a stock-trading ban."

"A PERMISSION SLIP FOR CORRUPTION, NOT A STOCK-TRADING BAN."

The vote came on the Senate's last day before an election recess, part of a pair of messaging votes Majority Leader John Thune scheduled to shore up vulnerable incumbents, according to CBS News. A separate bill addressing data-center electricity costs also failed Tuesday.

The push for a stock-trading ban has bipartisan roots: the House passed its own version in July on a 232-198 vote, with more than a dozen Democrats joining Republicans. That bill has stalled in the Senate, and with lawmakers now heading home to campaign ahead of the midterms, prospects for a compromise this year appear slim.