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Congressional Insider Trading

Passing the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was one of the few good acts of the 112th Congress. The legislation applies the law against insider trading to Congress itself and mandates an online disclosure system so that compliance could be monitored. Just one year later, Congress slashed critical provisions, leaving enforcement of the law seriously in question.

Make no mistake: The STOCK Act is still in effect and congressional insider trading still is banned. But it has become extraordinarily difficult to ensure compliance with the law.

One way to put teeth back into the law is to mandate disclosure of the lobbyists and Wall Street operatives who roam the halls of Congress for stock trading information. In the wake of Congress’ repeal of the disclosure enforcement mechanism of the STOCK Act, it is more important than ever to open the books on the political intelligence industry.

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