WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider a bill to ban members of Congress from buying and selling stocks based on information gleaned from congressional briefings. 

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a cosponsor of the “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” (STOCK Act), is a strong supporter of preventing public officials from using non-public information derived from their official positions for personal benefit.  The Senate bill is designed to make it clear that members of Congress and their employees may not take non-public information and turn it around for financial gain.  The bill also creates a system for providing real-time transparency regarding stock trading activity by members of Congress and staff. 

“No member of Congress should ever profit from insider information.  This is a common-sense measure making it crystal clear that Congress is transparent and accountable,” said Reed.  “I applaud Majority Leader Reid for bringing this bipartisan measure to the floor and I am confident it will pass with overwhelming support.”

In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama said he would quickly sign such a bill into law: “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow.”

However, while the Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have reportedly already signaled they will not quickly take up and pass the bipartisan Senate bill.

“The House shouldn’t play political games with this bill, they should get it done so the President can sign it into law,” said Reed.