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Klobuchar: Bipartisan Legislation Prohibiting Insider Trading by Members of Congress Signed Into Law

Klobuchar co-sponsored earlier version of legislation similar to bill introduced by Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz

April 4, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that bipartisan legislation prohibiting members of Congress from engaging in insider trading has been signed into law. The STOCK Act redefines insider trading to include knowledge gained from Congressional work and service and creates new rules and reporting requirements. Klobuchar cosponsored an earlier version of the bill that was similar to legislation Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz introduced in the House of Representatives.

“Today this common sense bill becomes the law of the land, strengthening our democracy by ensuring no member of Congress can profit from information they’ve obtained through their position,” Klobuchar said.“This is a good example of Democrats and Republicans coming together to do what’s right, and I will continue to work to ensure integrity in our political system.”

Until today, insider trading by members of Congress and their staffs was not explicitly prohibited by the Securities Exchange Act or Congressional rules. In addition to revising the statute to help the Securities and Exchange Commission to more easily prosecute cases of insider trading by members of Congress, the STOCK Act also makes it a violation of the rules of the House and Senate to engage in such an activity.  This creates more accountability so that anyone who uses their role as a member of Congress to enrich themselves would be answerable not only to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but also to Congress’s own ethics rules.

The STOCK Act will do the following:

The STOCK Act Clearly Prohibits Insider Trading in Congress.  Under the STOCK Act, members of Congress and their staff will explicitly be barred from buying or selling securities on the basis of non-public knowledge gained through their Congressional service – or from using that knowledge to tip off anyone else.  The STOCK Act makes it clear that trading on non-public information would violate the duty of trust members of Congress and their staff owe their constituents by establishing a clear fiduciary responsibility.

The STOCK Act Significantly Strengthens Disclosure Requirements.Currently, members of Congress annually disclose the purchase or sale of securities and commodities. The STOCK Act not only imposes a tough 30 day disclosure requirement, but also requires that the information is published online to ensure complete transparency and easy public access to the information.

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