Imagine this – with their national approval rating below 15%, the U.S. Congress might actually be embarrassed into making it explicitly illegal for members to profit from insider stock trading. What a concept.
In a 417/2 vote, the House of Representatives yesterday passed the so called Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act. Banning insider trading by members of congress, which puts them under the same restriction as the rest of us, might seem rather obvious. Not to John Campbell, Republican of California’s 48 Congressional District. He was one of only two members to vote against the bill.
West Orange County Republican Reps Dana Rohrabacher And Ed Royce both voted for the bill, as did West OC Democrat Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The second no vote came from Rob Woodall of Georgia.
President Obama demanded passage of the bill in his State of the Union address. The Senate approved a similar bill on Feb. 2, and legislators from both parties were quick to applaud themselves on “cleaning up Washington.” But, this issue has been around for ages, conclusively proving that when their approval rating sinks low enough, and an election is pending, congress can actually act in a responsible bipartisan manner.
(Ok, that was a little editorial.)
Even though the bills passed the House and Senate with votes from most members of both parties, that certainly does not mean the Democrats and Republicans actually agreed with each other. House Democrats were complaining that the Republican majority watered down their bill in deference to special interests.
The Senate version includes stronger disclosure requirements, which were written by Republican Senator Charles Grassley, of Iowa. According to the New York Times, he said it was “astonishing and extremely disappointing that the House would fulfill Wall Street’s wishes by killing this provision.”
The two different versions will now need to be reconciled before it can go to President Obama.
According to the New York Times, the Senate version “was written by members of both parties. In the House, it was revised by Republican leaders, without consulting Democrats, and it was considered on the House floor in a way that precluded amendments.”
The following is the full text of a statement released yesterday by Orange County Democrat Representative Sanchez:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) today voted in favor of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act. Passage of the STOCK Act will ban insider trading by Members of Congress, congressional staff, and executive branch employees. Unfortunately, the House Majority made this bill less transparent by removing a provision that would require those who profit off of political intelligence to register and report their activities and clients. Subsequently, House Republicans proceeded with this legislation without allowing proper debate and regular order.
“This is about more than insider trading. It’s about cleaning up Washington and getting special interests out of politics,” said Sanchez. “The American people deserve a government that is accountable and trustworthy. Anything else is unacceptable. Though the House Majority weakened the bill by not providing greater transparency, it is the first step in creating a Washington where Members of Congress should not and cannot profit from their position and their knowledge. No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information. There is simply no good reason for elected representatives and their staffs to play by a separate set of rules in the stock market. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both Chambers as we move towards a final resolution and I urge the President to sign it into law.”
Versions of the STOCK Act have passed both the House and the Senate and will be reconciled.
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About Dolores Barr, Publisher
Dolores Barr has lived in Rossmoor since 1992 and has created this site to provide local news for the people of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Leisure World, Sunset Beach, and Surfside, California. My husband and I have had two students graduate from the Los Alamitos Unified School District and currently our Grandson, Ricky Apodaca, grade 3 at Weaver Elementary, is actively involved in youth baseball through LAYB and youth football through FNL.
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