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Cummings Concerned With House Changes To STOCK Act
(Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today voted to pass the House Amendment to S. 2038, the STOCK Act, which would punish insider trading by Members of Congress and their staff.
In a speech on the House floor Thursday morning, Rep. Cummings expressed particular concern over the removal of a provision that would require those who peddle political intelligence for profit to register and report their activities.
“House Republicans have stripped out of a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate overwhelmingly key provisions that were supported by Democrats and Republicans alike,” said Cummings, who spoke Thursday morning on the House floor. “Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican Senator from Iowa, was among the first to criticize House Republicans’ actions, after they eliminated his provision to require greater transparency over so-called “political intelligence” consultants.
Rep. Cummings also expressed concern regarding unintentional drafting errors that might have been included in the House amendment to the bill. For example, the current bill could be interpreted as requiring that confidential financial disclosure forms filed by low-level executive branch employees must be posted online.
“Let me be clear, no Members of Congress should be able to benefit personally from information they gain by virtue of their service in Congress. While I support the purpose of this legislation, I believe we could and should craft a better bill to accomplish these important objectives.”
The House Amendment to the STOCK Act passed the House 417-2.
