STOCK Act: Congress Considering Insider Trading Bill

By LARRY MARGASAK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- Aware that most Americans would like to dump them all, members of Congress hope to regain some sense of trust by subjecting themselves to tougher penalties for insider trading and requiring they disclose stock transactions within 30 days.

A procedural vote Monday would allow the Senate later this week to pass a bill prohibiting members of Congress from using nonpublic information for their own personal benefit or "tipping" others to inside information that they could trade on.

Insider trading laws apply to all Americans, but CBS' "60 Minutes" in November said members of Congress get a pass, citing investment transactions by party leaders and a committee chairman in businesses about to be affected by pending legislation.

The broadcast report raised questions about trades of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; the husband of Democratic leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California; and Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

All three denied using any insider information to make stock trades, but the broadcast set off a flurry of efforts in Washington to deal with the public perception.

A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of registered voters found 56 percent of them favor replacing the entire 535-member Congress. Other polls this year have given Congress an approval rating between 11 percent and 13 percent, while disapproval percentages have ranged from 79 percent to 86 percent.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said he's working on an expanded bill that would go beyond stock transactions and ban lawmakers from making land deals and other investments based on what they learned as members of Congress.

The Senate version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act would subject any member of Congress who violates the ban on insider trading to investigation and prosecution by regulatory agencies and the Justice Department. It also directs the House and Senate ethics committees to write rules that would make violators subject to additional congressional penalties.

"We can start restoring some of the faith that's been lost in our government by taking this common sense step of making members of Congress play by the exact same rules as everyone else," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who with Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., wrote the bill "We must make it unambiguous that this kind of behavior is illegal."

President Barack Obama endorsed the bill in the State of the Union speech last week, saying he would "sign it tomorrow." Brown used that opening to briefly speak with the president as he was exiting the House chamber after Tuesday's address.

"The insider trading bill's on Harry's desk right now," Brown told Obama, referring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Tell him to get it out, it's already there."

"I'm gonna tell him," answered Obama. "I'm gonna tell him, I'm gonna tell him to get it done."

Obama raised the issue again in his radio and Internet address on Saturday.

"The House and Senate should send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress, and I will sign it immediately. They should limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact," he said.

Make your voice heard:

Comments

[americonst4]

05:11 PM on 03/22/2012

Thank TEA for the stock act. And the liberals think TEA is dead.

[edlindaspy]

09:42 PM on 02/15/2012

Cantor watering down the Stock Act,,,there is a petition to be signed,,,this guy is a piece of work,,I do hope he is voted out in 2012,,,

Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Republicans caved to pressure from right-wing special interest groups, going behind closed doors to water down the STOCK Act, a bill banning insider trading for Members of Congress.

At the last minute, Cantor and Republicans carved it up. This is unacceptable to the American people.

http://www.dccc.org/pages/stockact

[trumbull desi]

09:23 AM on 02/02/2012

"[Cantor] now trying to extend the STOCK Act "so it includes land deals and other types of transactions and not just stock trades." Classic taking a good idea too far. The problem is insider trading in stocks, not insider trading in land deals. Cantor obviously hopes that incuding a vast array of economic activity within the bill, exposing members of Congress to disclosure obligations and other restrictions, as well as increasing their liability exposure, will make the bill sufficiently unpopular so as to prevent its passage.

Because yeah -- Republicans want an even playing field. (Hat tip to The Dish)

[aforbes808]

08:09 PM on 02/01/2012

Before Steve Kroft and 60 Minute's, the bill, which was introduced by Brian Baird (D-WA), had 7 co-sponsors in the house. After is aired, over 100 co-sponsors. I'm sure they have picked it apart and padded it with some nifty loopholes and escape routes. Neither side has any honor left to defend.

[jerryatthebeach]

07:36 PM on 02/01/2012

Yes, it has to be stopped. We blame Wall Street but the corruption is really in Washington....

[MadDad1]

09:14 AM on 02/01/2012

It appears the Code of Ethics for Government Service has prohibited "insider trading" by Members of Congress and their staffs since 1958 but has not been enforced. Rule 8 of this Code states "Never use any information gained confidentially in the performance of governmental duties as a means of making a private profit." Read about the Code of Ethics for Government Service at Pages 20 and 436 of the House and Senate Ethics Manuals, respectively, at: www.ethics.house.gov and www.ethics.senate.gov.

[toddisit]

10:03 AM on 01/31/2012

Might do some good, but most of them have such lousy ideas or no will to change anything. If you are sitting pretty, you don't want things to change, but most of us are not. I doubt the bill will pass.

[nbj5215]

07:51 AM on 01/31/2012

All of DC needs a flush! There may be a hand full of honest people there thats it .Keep flushing till all the crap is removed.

[Goffy]

09:03 AM on 01/31/2012

99% of Congress are made up by multi millionaires.
If you are not wealthy, no Congress in your future...

[lajoan47]

07:32 AM on 01/31/2012

I don't buy any of this, they can't think past obstructing Obama, do you really think they are going to limit their own corruptness and agendas?

[klclt]

06:27 AM on 01/31/2012

hello

[okitori]

03:56 AM on 01/31/2012

Obama must have been embarrassed when Scott Brown had to tell him that the bill was already passed by the House and sent to the Senate months ago. Harry Reid refused to bring it to the floor of the Senate for a vote. And Obama is standing in front of the country pretending he will sign any bill--did he not know that the bill was being held up by the Democratically controlled Senate? Does this guy have a clue? Maybe he should take a look at the other bills that are sitting on Reid's desk. Some are probably the ones that he says "Put them on my desk and I will sign them."

[billhodges]

05:00 AM on 01/31/2012

I doubt Hus sein is capable of being embarrassed. He sees everything he does as perfect no matter the truth.

[kidmac32]

02:06 AM on 01/31/2012

the following is a list of all politicians who left washington poorer than when they arrived.
1)

yup, still waiting. anyone got the answer to this one?

[billhodges]

05:01 AM on 01/31/2012

ZERO!!!!!!

[Fingdower1]

12:31 AM on 01/31/2012

Throw the Bums out!! Term limits and no more exemptions on any law the people have to obey.

GBA

[Ramon Noches]

11:20 PM on 01/30/2012

Congressional insider trading is a striking issue and perhaps at the tip of an even larger set of equally improper privileges they currently enjoy. Has Washington ever published a readable list of Congressional privileges in common English so most citizens can understand? For an appropriate number of American citizens to understand written laws folks should write them at an eighth grade reading level.

[l78lancer]

10:54 PM on 01/30/2012

This is only a very small step towards restoring their integrity and credibility. I am more interested in what not in the bill than what is in it.

[Fingdower1]

12:51 AM on 01/31/2012

How can you restore what they never had ........

[l78lancer]

01:32 AM on 01/31/2012

Okay. Maybe I gave them too much credit. I'm talking about way back in the days when they had at least a 20% approval rating.