Senate Passes Insider Trading Ban; STOCK Act Goes to Obama
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The STOCK act, House-passed legislation to ban members of Congress from benefiting from insider stock trading, has now also passed in the Senate by a vote of 96-3.
The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.
The bill reaffirms that members of Congress, Congressional staff, and Executive and Judicial branch officials are not exempt from the insider trading prohibitions arising under securities and commodities laws.
Members of Congress have consistently cited this legislation as one that could restore some of the badly-needed confidence and trust from the American people.
The bill requires Members and Senior Congressional staff to report the purchase or sale of securities exceeding $1,000 no later than 30 days after the transaction. It requires an electronic disclosure system for the public financial disclosure system, and requires members and senior executive brand officials to disclose the home mortgages.
The bill bans Members, their staff and senior executive and judicial branch employees from participating in initial public offerings in any manner other than what is available to the members of the public. It strengthens laws relating to denial of Congressional pensions to members who commit public corrupt crimes while serving in Congress and will deny pensions to former Members who commit those crimes while serving in public offices.
The bill also prohibits executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from receiving bonuses while the firms remain in federal conservatorship.
The House of Representatives bill that was the one ultimately passed was widely seen as a more watered down version of the original Senate bill. Democrats complained that the House bill was weaker than the Senate-passed legislation because it eliminated a political intelligence registration requirement and dropped anti-corruption legislation.
Republicans, on the other hand, believed the changes made it stronger because they added provisions expanding the scope of the bill “to fully cover the Executive Branch” and ensure that members of Congress convicted of a crime do not receive taxpayer funded pensions.
The legislation had been stalled in Congress since early last month, after the Senate and the House of Representatives each passed their own versions, but could not agree on one bill.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio