We’ve seen this movie before, but two members of Congress, Louise M. Slaughter (pictured) and Brian Baird, are once again sponsoring the “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” that would prohibit Congress and their staffers from using nonpublic information obtained through their official positions to benefit themselves financially. This is the third year in a row that the legislation has been proposed.
In a statement, Slaughter and Baird said that the proposed legislation (HR 682) is even more important now, given the amount of money Congress has authorized under the financial services bailout program, CQ politics reports.
“Members of Congress and their staffs should not be above the law when it comes to profiting from sensitive information,” said Congressman Baird. “The American people expect Members and staffers to work on their behalf and to represent their interests, not to increase the returns on our investments and fatten their stock portfolios.”
“Members of Congress and federal employees often have early access to sensitive information that can seriously affect the stock market,” added Slaughter. “Unfortunately, there is a very real potential for this information to be used improperly.”
As previously discussed here, a massive amount of information on the subject of insider trading by Congress is available at a website called ProCon.org.
Subscribe to Securities Docket by Email
[...] Reps. Slaughter and Baird Again Sponsor “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” by Securities Docket [...]