Maloney Urges Immediate Passage of Congressional Insider Trading Ban
News Release: February 2, 2012
Contact: Joe Soldevere, (212) 860-0606
Maloney Urges Immediate Passage of Congressional Insider Trading Ban
-NY Rep. Signs Discharge Petition That Would Force Vote
on STOCK Act-
Washington, D.C. – Last night, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) signed a discharge petition that would force a vote on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a measure sponsored by New York Rep. Louise Slaughter and cosponsored by a bipartisan group of more than 270 House members, including Maloney.
“Insider trading is illegal on Wall Street and it should be illegal on Capitol Hill,” Maloney said. “The STOCK Act is bipartisan, common-sense legislation to prohibit federal elected officials from profiting on non-public information they receive through their legislative duties. Regrettably, this bill is being subjected to Republican stall tactics and games, a fate that has befallen all too many measures in this Congress. I urge the House leadership to bring the STOCK Act up for a vote at once, and I likewise call on Senate Republicans to stop trying to tack poison-pill amendments onto the bill. The STOCK Act is a long-overdue reform of how Washington does business – and the American people deserve and expect Congress to pass it immediately.”
A discharge petition is a parliamentary procedure that, once 218 House members have signed on, requires an up-or-down vote on a piece of legislation.
The STOCK Act would prohibit Members of Congress and other federal employees from profiting on non-public information that they obtain through their official positions. The Senate is considering the measure this week. President Obama has said that he would sign the STOCK Act once it reaches his desk.
