Bill Aims to Prevent Use of Insider Financial Information by Federal Workers

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Bill Aims to Prevent Use of Insider Financial Information by Federal Workers
By Bennett Roth, CQ Staff


With the federal government increasingly involved in the financial affairs of private companies, a pair of lawmakers has proposed prohibiting members of Congress and other federal employees from trading stocks based on non-public information obtained from congressional or federal agency activity.

The bill (HR 682) would bar members of Congress, their staff and executive agency employees from buying or selling stocks based on information that had not been publicly released.

The measure would also prevent outsiders from trading stocks based on private information passed to them from legislative or executive branch employees.

The legislation, sponsored by Brian Baird , D-Wash., and House Rules Chairwoman Louise M. Slaughter , D-N.Y., would change House rules to bar members and staff from disclosing non-public information related to a publicly traded company.

It would also require members to report stock transactions of more than $1,000 within 90 days, in contrast to the current practice of reporting such sales and purchases on annual financial disclosure forms. And it would direct firms that specialize in political intelligence to register with the House and Senate, as lobbying firms do.

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