Reuters: Top News: Senate passes lawmakers' insider trading bill

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Senate passes lawmakers' insider trading bill Mar 22nd 2012, 23:34 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Under pressure from fuel prices, Obama starts energy blitz Wed, Mar 21 2012 Buffett millionaires tax to raise $47 billion: report Wed, Mar 21 2012 Bill to help startups advances in US Senate Wed, Mar 21 2012 Startups bill hits speed bump in Senate Wed, Mar 21 2012 Republican budget draws election contrast with Obama Tue, Mar 20 2012 Analysis & Opinion Malia malarkey The IRS as border guard The U.S. Capitol dome and U.S. Senate (R) in Washington, August 2, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst By David Lawder WASHINGTON | Thu Mar 22, 2012 7:34pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to send President Barack Obama legislation imposing new curbs on insider trading by members of Congress, even though the measure was weaker than a version it passed in February. Obama has promised to swiftly sign into law the measure aimed at ensuring that lawmakers do not profit from non-public knowledge they gain through their positions. Senators voted 96-3 for a motion that allowed voice-vote passage of the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act, the most extensive effort to clamp down on Congress' personal dealings in years. The approval margin was identical to a February 9 vote on the measure that included two key provisions that were dropped from the final version: one creating new legal tools for prosecutors to pursue public corruption cases and another that would require so-called political intelligence operatives to register under lobbying laws. The legislation, once seen as a feel-good bill destined for swift passage, ran into problems when the House of Representatives passed a version of it without those provisions. House Republican leaders argued that the political intelligence provision, which targeted former Capitol Hill insiders who use their contacts to gather information on pending legislation and sell it to Wall Street investors, could tread on First Amendment free speech rights. The final version orders a study of what to do about that increasingly widespread practice. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attempted to convene a conference with House members to try to bring the final bill closer to the Senate's first version, but gave up this week and agreed to put the House bill to a vote. The Senate bill's sponsors chose to focus on what they did get in the final version - namely provisions to make it clear that Securities and Exchange Commission prohibitions against trading on insider information applies to lawmakers and their staffs. "You can rarely get 100 percent of what you want, so you have to settle for less," said Senator Joe Lieberman, an Independent who shepherded the bill as the head of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Similar insider trading legislation had languished in Congress for years, but got a massive boost from a CBS "60 Minutes" expose of questionable stock transactions by several members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. With White House prodding, lawmakers seized upon the effort amid public opinion polls during the past year that put Congress' approval rating at a record low of about 9 percent. (Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Vicki Allen) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (11) No information on the contents of the bill? In comparison with its stronger counterpart? Mar 22, 2012 2:14pm EDT  --  Report as abuse "even though the measure was weaker than a version passed by the Senate in February." I'm pretty sure that they didn't make so weak that they would have to let guys they just convicted out of prison but weak enough so none of them do. "Pelosi Pardons Herself" Mar 22, 2012 2:34pm EDT  --  Report as abuse Ah, so apparently this bill concerns nonpublic information learned by thousands in the federal government (including Congress and the president) and limits the use of that information for personal profit. The differences between the stronger and weaker versions of this bill appear to be two points that were taken out: 1. Strengthened criminal law in public corruption cases. 2. Requirement that reports be filed for the selling of any information sold by Congressional staff and members. Mar 22, 2012 3:06pm EDT  --  Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment

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