Your $tock Mom

Washington (CNN) – It was a rare show of bipartisanship – President Barack Obama, flanked by Democrats and Republicans in April, signing into law a bill that would ban insider trading on Capitol Hill. The measure, known as the STOCK Act, had passed the House and Senate at warp speed.

“The powerful shouldn’t get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else,” the president said at the time.

Lawmakers proclaimed that the bill, officially called the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, would restore trust in government. It also applied new rules to some employees of the executive branch.

But CNN uncovered that the law that members of Congress thought they voted for earlier this year isn’t exactly as advertised. A loophole could still allow family members of some lawmakers to profit from inside information.

The STOCK Act requires that any trades of $1,000 or more made on or after July 3 have to be reported to the House and Senate within 45 days. But the House and Senate have two completely different interpretations of that rule. – Deirdre Walsh and Dana Bash, CNN Updated Thu July 19, 2012

Even if the “loophole” is closed, the law still appears to work in favor of its authors (Congress) and not go far enough. I find it very troubling that Congress reports “any STOCK Act” infraction to its own body for appropriate action instead of having a non-partisan agency, or at least an unaffiliated department or agency such as the SEC, do the policing and enforcing of the law. As it stands right now – even if a trade breaks that “$1,000 or more” limit and is “reported to the House and Senate within 45 days” – it is still all in the “family”! – $tock Mom

(video 5:08)

UPDATE:

“Congress closes loophole in stock trading law after CNN report
From Deirdre Walsh and Dana Bash, CNN
updated 10:18 PM EDT, Thu August 2, 2012”

(video 3:02)