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New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, on a bill to end the ability of Congressmen and women to profit from insider knowledge on Wall Street. “I have introduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate with fifteen of our colleagues -- Senators Rubio, Snowe, Johanns, Tester, Stabenow, McCaskill, Klobuchar, Durbin, Blumenthal, Bill Nelson, Reed, Cardin, Kerry, Sherrod Brown, and Baucus -- to close this loophole.... Our bill, which has received the support of at least seven good government advocacy groups, covers several important principles:
• Members of Congress, their families and their staff should be barred from buying or selling securities on the basis of knowledge gained through their Congressional service – or from using that knowledge to tip off anyone else. The SEC and CFTC must be empowered to investigate these cases. To provide additional teeth -- such acts should also be a violation of Congress’s own rules, to make clear that this activity is inappropriate.
• Members should be required to disclose major transactions – of $1,000 or more – within 90 days, providing dramatically improved oversight and accountability from the current annual reporting requirements.
• Lastly, individuals doing political intelligence work – contacting members of Congress, their staffs, and other individuals to gain information on investment decisions – should have to register as lobbyists to provide oversight of this industry.