CNN exclusive: Congressional insider trading ban might not apply to families
PLEASE CREDIT: Deirdre Walsh and Dana Bash, CNN
Updated 10:09 PM EDT, Thu July 19, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• STOCK Act bans members of Congress from insider trading
• Guidelines for members of the House say spouses and children aren’t covered
• Sponsors of bill say they intended to restore trust in Washington
• House Majority Leader Cantor’s office says it will take steps to close loophole
Washington (CNN) — It was a rare show of bipartisanship — President Barack Obama, flanked by Democrats and Republicans in April, signing into law a bill
that would ban insider trading on Capitol Hill. The measure, known as the STOCK Act, had passed the House and Senate at warp speed.
“The powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else,” the president said at the time.
Lawmakers proclaimed that the bill, officially called the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, would restore trust in government. It also applied new
rules to some employees of the executive branch.
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But CNN uncovered that the law that members of Congress thought they voted for earlier this year isn’t exactly as advertised. A loophole could still allow
family members of some lawmakers to profit from inside information.
The STOCK Act requires that any trades of $1,000 or more made on or after July 3 have to be reported to the House and Senate within 45 days. But the House
and Senate have two completely different interpretations of that rule.
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