Today, Congressman Tim Bishop voted in favor of banning Members of Congress and Executive Branch officials from using information gleaned in the course of their official duties to make stock trades. Bishop joined an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives in passing the ban, which was an amended version of a bill previously passed by the Senate.
Bishop voted yes today to support the spirit of the legislation, but said he would have preferred that the House pass the version of the ban that he cosponsored, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act (H.R. 1148). Bishop said the version passed today was weakened at the insistence of House GOP leadership, but he expressed confidence that the it would be improved during negotiations with the Senate on a consensus version of the insider trading ban.
“It is common sense that Members of Congress should not profit from what they learn during the course of their official duties,” said Bishop. “I support a robust prohibition of insider trading for high government officials and I am confident the Senate will push back against the efforts of House leadership to water down the ban.”
The version of the trading ban passed in the House today weakened the Senate’s bill by deleting a provision that would require those who trade in political intelligence for profit to register with the government and report on their activities and eliminating a provision that gives law enforcement officials effective new tools to detect and prosecute public corruption.
