STOCK Act passes in House

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, left, and House Speaker John Boehner, right.

/ AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Updated: 2:22 p.m. ET

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent members of Congress from financial market trading based on nonpublic information they have obtained in the course of their congressional work.

The bill, which was approved 417 to 2, is similar to a bill approved last week by the Senate, but does not include a provision regulating those in the financial information business.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stripped a provision requiring those that collect financial information and sell it to Wall Street to register the same way lobbyists do. The House legislation does include a provision that would  extend the new regulations to include the executive branch as well.

The bill may now head to a special committee of lawmakers tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate bill. Alternately, the Senate could take up the House-passed version of the bill and make changes before sending the bill to Mr. Obama for his signature.  

Congress: Trading stock on inside information?
CBSNews.com Series: United States of Influence

Lawmakers are already subject to insider trading laws, but some argue that current insider trading laws do not apply to nonpublic information about current or upcoming congressional activity, since members of Congress aren't technically obligated to keep that information confidential.

The legislation languished in Congress for years until CB

The bill may now head to a special committee of lawmakers tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate bill. Alternately, the Senate could take up the House-passed version of the bill and go back and forth with the House on proposed changes. After a final version of the bill has been agreed upon, it will go to Mr. Obama for his signature.

S' "60 Minutes" ran a high-profile segment on the issue late last year.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called on members of Congress to send him "a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow."

Democrats announced Wednesday night that they would support the Republican-sponsored version of the bill in order to move it through the legislative process, but expressed hope that the final version would be closer to the Senate bill.

"We are going to be supporting it for that reason with hopes and expectations that we can go to conference," said New York Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter, a chief proponent of the bill. "It has been weakened totally as far as I'm concerned," Slaughter said of the House version.

Slaughter also objected to the bill's so-called Pelosi provision, which denies members and staffers access from early access to initial public offerings (IPOs).

"She knows how to take a punch so she understands that this is a purely political piece of work that I thought was extraneous and totally unnecessary," Slaughter said Wednesday.

[MooreRich]

Mr. Obama? What happened to him being your President?

[1closereader]

Well, the Stock Act, that the GOP House gutted, before slying daring the Senate to object to the travesty the House passed, is now stalled. Again. Congress knows that if they vote for the good, Senate version of the Stock Act, which would track anyone who sells DC insider tips for profit, that they would lose donors, future lucractive work as future consultants, contacts, and anger Wall Street. Only overwhelming voter demand can match such perverse conressional $$ incentives, that incented Eric Cantor to gut the Stock Act behind closed doors, with no public debate nor amendments allowed. Only overwhelming voter demand could make Congress do their job now, in public debate, in the reconciliation step, before anything goes to the President. Propublica has a good example of the DC insider trading, that only the Senate version would at least track. Look at the political intelligence example: http://www.propublica.org/special/taking-stock-of-the-stock-act-a-side-by-side-comparison .

Tell Congress to do their job for a change, at http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9494 .

[1closereader]

Why do the various news accounts say that the House of Representatives passed a ban on insider trading in governemnt? They instead newtered the Stock Act, to institutionalize the growing sales of insider info to large investors, by consultants and lobbyists. The Stock Act is now the opposite of a ban. Eric Cantor gelded the bill that the Senate had passed 96 - 3, deleting all tracking and enforcement. He did this behind closed doors, used the GOP majority to force a quick vote with no discussion allowed, and no amendments allowed. This travesty of the Stock Act now legalizes D.C. insider trading (that should land you or I in jail), and the bill no longer has any tracking for enforcement. Only if you are currently elected or working in the Executive Branch, must you disclose your stock investments. Eric Cantor gilded this gelding, by adding language requiring a study, instead of tracking and enforcement, within the next year. Another study committee instead of a real law.

And now this ennuch of legislation, that was formerly a ban on corruption, goes to conference committee or informal negotiations, to resolve differences between the Senate and House versions. GOP'ers have already branded Republican Senator Grassley, as having overstepped his bounds, to include tracking and enforcement in the first version of the Stock Act bill. And news reports still call the Stock Act a ban on insider trading, which it no longer is. D.C. insiders call the selling of insider information to large investors, like hedge funds, Political Intelligence, available only to those who can pay to play. The Political Intelligence industry is in its infancy, but already worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, legal for consultants, lobbyists, and big investors, and now untracked, legalized insider trading. Welcome to Congressional doublespeak in favor of kleptocracy, masquerading as a ban on cashing in. Will the Senate stick up for a real ban on corruption? Or will they all leave Obama hanging, alone, to veto or not, like a little Dutch boy, to save his country by putting his finger in the leaking ****, cold and alone all night, until his countrymen can repair the **** and save their country?

[TimeIsNowfor99]

This act was neutered by GOP Cantor. Allowing political intelligence groups to sell information obtained from politicans to Wall street investment companies defeats the whole purpose of driving corruption from our government. And guess waht? These political intelligence groups give alot of money to Cantor. If this guy is not thrown out in a landslide at the next election, the people in his district need to have their water checked. Cantor represnets all that is wrong with our government. He is nothing more than a bought out politican there to serve his own interests and the interests of those who slip him the cash. Pathetic little person he is.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

While it is encouraging good news that they did it, I have doubts it will do much good. What is needed is a law that applies to Congress/government just like businessmen. If a government official's portfolio buys or sells a stock at an opportune time that appears to be an insider trade, the government official goes to jail. JAIL. Including the wink-wink cases where Congressmen "appear" to have turned over their portfolios in trust. As in, any of the generals/admirals/congressmen who bought into the McDonell-Douglas company the day before the F-18 contract was announced. A bill that says we'll just yell at them a while is inadequate.

[dzaffina]

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stripped a provision requiring those that collect financial information and sell it to Wall Street to register the same way lobbyists do......... i guess that should keep cantor's wallstreet banker wife happy.

[TheVarsityClub]

Doe's anyone else think there is going to be a mad rush on stocks (purchases or dumps) in the house and senate before this piece of legislation gets to the presidents desk? (I've heard once the president signs the bill there is still going to be a 90 day grace period before the bill goes into effect.)

I've heard Speaker Boehner is heavily vested in the proposed pipe line from Canada, and everybody knows Pelosi is heavily vested in vodka (still steamed about $150,000 bar tab she, her family, and associates ran up on a flight to the middle east).

Well, it's a start.

Thank you 60 Minutes for bringing it to the attention of the American public.

[mjlewis6]

And while we are at it, perhaps the Speaker of the House can prevail with his caucus to include a JOBS bill in there. SEEMS that was the big noise he made when he took the job.

JOBS, Mr. SPEAKER.... not empty legislation that will NOT RESULT in any convictions or denial of edgemarks, another method of enriching your constituency and your own war chests indirectly.

[SenorPlaid]

See? Congress can work together ... when it's for something to cover their own privileged a$$e$.

[johnniewinesap]

does this bill do anything about those who profited prior to now.
can and shouldn't they be charged with "insider trading" violations?
what are they better than the rest of us?

[signseeker1717]

Not even "the rest of us" can be charged under a law enacted AFTER the fact.