Co-Sponsor Murkowski Lauds Passage of Insider Trading Bill
Senator: STOCK Act Gives “Enforcement Teeth” on Stock Dealings, Modernizes Transparency
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Murkowski today voted for the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (the STOCK Act), which she co-sponsored. The legislation – which passed the U.S. Senate by an overwhelming 96-3 vote – would expressly prohibit elected officials and staffers from using nonpublic information they come across in their work for their own benefit.
“This legislation is an important step as Congress attempts to rebuild and regain some of the trust that voters have lost with Capitol Hill – it puts some enforcement teeth into the laws and into our own ethics rules,” said Murkowski. “This also brings accountability into the 21st century – financial disclosures will be online when we file them, not the current hard copy that gets hand-delivered to the Senate. That was outdated and it’s fixed in this. This is about disclosure and transparency.”
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration and:
- Explicitly holds members of Congress and Congressional employees accountable to regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Requires the disclosure of any securities or commodities future transaction within 30 days of the transaction to ensure compliance with federal laws.
- Makes it easier for the public to find Congressional financial disclosure information on the web, increasing transparency.
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