Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow. -- President Obama, State of the Union, January 24, 2012
Well, he kept his word, kinda did that is. On April 4, 2012, Obama signed into law The STOCK Act, Pub.L. 112105, S. 2038, 126 Stat. 291. This piece of legislation was specifically targeting the nefarious practice by members of congress and other federal employees of buying stock when they were in possession of inside knowledge. Members of Congress were outraged. A large source of illegal income was taken away from these white collar crooks.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/04/fact-sheet-stock-act-bans-members-congress-insider-tradingThe STOCK Act is an original bill to prohibit Members of Congress and employees of Congress from using nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit, and for other purposes. With this bill in place, Congressman will no longer be allowed to use information garnered through official business for personal reasons. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act prohibits members and employees of Congress from using "any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position
or gained from performance of the individual's duties, for personal benefit. The bill also applies to all employees in the Executive and Judicial branches of the federal government.
Not to worry, the c***ter-in-chief quietly and unceremoniously bought off the 113th congress when on April 15, 2013 Obama repealed portions of the act to the delight of Congress and federal employees.
Both houses of Congress passed this bill unanimously and it was not done in a vacuum, Press Secretary Jay Carney said. Congress changed the online posting provision only after a panel of experts from the National Academy of Public Administration studied this issue and issued a report recommending indefinite suspension, raising national security, law enforcement and personal security concerns
http://www.rollcall.com/news/obama_signs_partial_repeal_of_stock_act-224019-1.htmlThat folks is how business is done in Washington and the very reason We the People are getting the dirty end of the stick every time Congress is in session. Obama plays footsie with congress, federal employees and logically with the judiciary as well. It seems quite safe to say with a great deal of certainty that any and all politicians are Dirty. Money and power are their gods. If we wish for a relatively clean government, we must insist on Term Limits in 2014, a repeal of the XVIIth Amendment and a recall of every sitting member of Congress. Reinstate the entire STOCK Act.
This could be accomplished by an Article V Constitutional Convention. Come on Tea Party, lets rumble.
Dr. Thomas E. Davis, Colonel, USA (ret)