Today, the Members of the Progressive Caucus and I voted for the House version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Corrupt insider deals have no place in our democracy, and this type of legislation is an important step towards preventing lawmakers from enriching themselves while doing the People’s business. That being said, this legislation does not go far enough, and I am not happy about it.
The Good:
The STOCK Act stops Members of Congress and their staff from trading stocks based on information from congressional briefings and their official duties. It gives the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission the power they need to hold us accountable. Congress writes the laws of the land and holds the power of the purse for the federal government. To do their job properly, Members and their staff have a lot of information at their disposal that is not always readily available to the general public. They often have a pretty good idea about what the outcomes of laws, regulations and budgetary actions will be when they are enacted. Some people could use that inside information for personal enrichment, and that’s quite the opposite of a free market, to put it mildly.
The Bad:
Rep. Eric Cantor wrote the version of the bill that was approved today. Unlike the tough bill introduced in the Senate and the one introduced by my Democratic colleagues Reps. Tim Walz and Louise Slaughter, Rep. Cantor’s bill has a huge loophole in it that was created especially for his Wall Street friends. Rep. Cantor eliminated language that would make “political intelligence consultants” register the same way lobbyists do. These middlemen make a living by knowing who needs to talk to whom to make things happen. We should know who they are and who they meet with, especially if the idea is to make congressional financial decisions more transparent. Rep. Cantor’s version also eliminated provisions to strip pension benefits from Members and staff that break the new law and close certain existing anti-corruption loopholes.
Stopping insider trading is not the kind of issue that demands a vigorous pro/con debate. The hyper-partisan and nearly-paralyzed Senate approved its stronger version 93-3. Sen. John Cornyn approved of the stronger language, and staunch conservative Sen. Chuck Grassley was so incensed by Rep. Cantor’s Wall Street loophole that he released a statement berating his Republican friends across the Hill.
The bills are going to a conference committee, which I hope will fix these unnecessary problems. Rep. Cantor is already taking a lot of heat for the way he managed this bill, but he’s sticking to his guns. Right now, he’s looking pretty lonely. My Progressive Caucus colleagues and I feel that we don’t need to kick open the barn door in the process of trying to close it. Anyone who disagrees should have to explain why – directly and in public.