March 23, 2012 •
U.S. Senate Passes STOCK Act
The Senate passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act yesterday, banning insider trading by members of Congress.
For full news coverage, be sure to read:
“STOCK Act passes: Insider trading ban heads to Obama” by Scott Wong in Politico.
“Lawmakers hit bipartisan note following STOCK Act passage” by Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
March 21, 2012 •
STOCK Act is Back
Will be voted on without amendments.
The U.S. Senate will proceed with the House version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The bill would bar lawmakers and staff from engaging in insider trading and has been stalled since February. The provision requiring the registration and reporting of “political intelligence consultants” has been removed, but U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are working to have it restored.
According to Politico, “Reid filed a cloture petition on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act on Tuesday, setting up a Thursday vote to move forward on the bill.”
“Harry Reid to force vote on insider trading bill” by John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer in Politico.
Also: “Senate to vote on STOCK Act” by Paul Kane in The Washington Post.
February 8, 2012 •
US House Removes LDA Reporting and Registration Requirements from Senate STOCK Bill
Political Intelligence
Last night the U.S. House removed all registration requirements by those conducting political intelligence activities from the Senate’s Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which passed the Senate last week with a bi-partisan vote of 96 to 3.
The original Senate Bill 2038, now in the house, expanded the Lobbyist Disclosure Act to include requiring registration and reporting from those conducting political intelligence activities, which was defined as “political intelligence contacts and efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation and planning activities, research, and other background work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in contacts, and coordination with such contacts and efforts of others.”
While the House also made other changes to the bill, the only reference to the removal of the reporting and registration requirements made by Congressman Eric Cantor in a press release issued last night stated, “Tonight, we will introduce a strengthened and expanded STOCK Act, and remove provisions that would have made the bill unworkable or raised more questions then they answered.”
If passed as changed in the House, the bill would have to return to the Senate for another vote. The current version of Senate Bill 2038 can be found here.
Photo of the U.S. Capitol by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.
February 3, 2012 •
American League of Lobbyists Against Part of STOCK Act
President Howard Marlowe gives statement
The American League of Lobbyists opposes the part of the recently-passed STOCK Act that requires political intelligence operatives to register under LDA requirements. They say it would impede their reform efforts to close loopholes.
For news coverage, read: “Lobbyist League Opposes STOCK Act Language on Political Intelligence Operatives” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
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