Bill banning insider trading advances in Senate over GOP opp

WaveCameCrashinWaveCameCrashin Posts: 2,929
edited May 2013 in A Moving Train
How much longer are we going to stand for this. These politicians on both sides are nothing but crooks. If we did this we would thrown in jail,yet this I just another day in Washington. We pay these people's salary.

THEY WORK FOR US!! Did anyone see when Steve kroft from 60 min asked N.Pelosi about her stock picks and how angry and displaced she became? I thought her eyeballs were going to pop OUT..

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=n-uefCvtp24

Not to mention all the vacation time they get,but that's a whole another issue.. :x



A Senate committee easily cleared legislation explicitly prohibiting members from profiting by trading on inside information, despite objections from some GOP lawmakers who called it unnecessary and politically motivated.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced the bill by a vote of 7-2 Tuesday. GOP Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) dissented, calling the bill unnecessary and rife with potential unintended consequences. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also opposed the bill, but was absent from the vote.


Backers of the bill agreed that lawmakers are already subject to the same insider-trading laws everyone else must follow, but maintained that it was a worthwhile exercise to make it explicit in statute that such practices are prohibited. A November “60 Minutes” report suggested that several high-ranking members of Congress might have profited personally from information obtained in the halls of Congress.
“We need to send a strong message making absolutely clear that members of Congress and their staff are not exempt,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee’s ranking member. “The simpler and more direct we can be, the better.”

But Coburn contended that the rush to pass such a bill was driven by a need for political cover, not the need for clearer laws.

“We’re in a rush to prove to the American public that we’re not guilty,” he said. “We shouldn’t be in a super hurry to fix it because it solves a political problem for us.”

Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) argued that suspicions about insider trading in Congress could make it harder for the legislature to actually do its job.

“If the trust in this institution goes much lower than it is right now, it really compromises our capacity to govern,” he said.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who introduced legislation along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) that formed the basis of Tuesday’s bill, saw no problem in the rapid pace, while prodding House Republicans to follow suit.

“We’re actually ahead of the House on this, which is a good thing,” Brown said, suggesting it puts “pressure on the House to move their bill forward.”

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) had planned for a quick markup of similar legislation in the House, but that vote has been tabled indefinitely. Bachus was singled out in the “60 Minutes” report for certain profitable trades made during the height of the financial crisis. He has denounced the accusations and said none of the financial moves he made were based on private information.

Following the report, Bachus began to push the harshest version of the insider-trading legislation. 

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) put the brakes on the bill, as Bachus’s move had not been approved by GOP leadership. Cantor told Bachus that several committees have jurisdiction on the matter.


That slowdown has Democrats looking for other ways to bring it to the floor. On Wednesday, the legislation was included as part of a motion to recommit filed on the payroll-tax package crafted by Republicans, which was defeated by the GOP majority.
“Since we learned Eric Cantor is blocking the STOCK Act, we are considering any and all options to bring this bill to the floor,” said Sara Severs, spokeswoman for Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), one of the bill’s lead sponsors. “Members of Congress should have to play by the same rules as everyone else.”

The bill prohibits members of Congress, their staff and other government employees from making financial trades based on private, material information obtained in the course of their public service. The House version of the bill also would prohibit people outside of Congress from trading on private information obtained from within the government, in an effort to crack down on the burgeoning industry of “political intelligence.”

But the Senate panel delayed work on that aspect of the bill, instead requiring the Government Accountability Office to study the matter. Lieberman expressed concern that such a prohibition could be overly broad and could even restrict what members can tell constituents about pending legislation.



Source:
http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/ ... opposition
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • mikepegg44mikepegg44 Posts: 3,353
    About god damn time

    I never understood why someone would pay so much money and put so much time and leave really good jobs to be a Representative that pays 175 a year. Not that that is chicken scratch, but most of these people were lawyers and other professionals that could make that standing on their heads. Now I understand the reason, because you are above the law.

    This is a good start, next will be limiting terms and making it illegal to invest while "working" as a representative or senator.
    that’s right! Can’t we all just get together and focus on our real enemies: monogamous gays and stem cells… - Ned Flanders
    It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
    - Joe Rogan
  • Thank you for commenting Mp44 :)


    You guys really need to watch that " 60 minutes"clip on this. I mean if this doesn't get your attention nothing will. I'll give it another day or so but I'm pretty surprised by the lack of comments so far on this thread. I'm starting to realize that people will follow their party no matter how corrupt they are. And furthermore I find it very refreshing that a Conservative broke this story and had no problem going after the (R) est. And wait until you see how speaker Boehner just lies his fucking ass off. It's pretty fucking discusting and it got my blood presure way up :x
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    insider trading is illegal and should apply to all citizens, ESPECIALLY those in government who have inside information on business deals and the markets.

    why would anyone oppose this unless they are motivated by greed and power?

    i think it says a lot about the quality of people we are hiring to represent us. i am convinced that washington politics are enough to corrupt anyone. power and money have been the most powerful human temptations since the beginning of time.

    i saw that 60 minutes clip and all of them lied. every one of them.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Thanks gimmie.. I knew I could count on you. We very rarely agree when it comes to politics,but this is just fucked up. I think when more and more people start to realize that 90% of the politicians don't give a shit about us more people will start to pay attention. For example I very rarely even watch fox or any cable news for that matter. I watch cspan and get my news from independent web sites or I read books. But I digress..

    These people are the worst of the worst. We are now living in a post constitutional country. They took an oath and swore to abide by our Constitution yet they try to evade it any chance they get.
  • Despite the evil inside-trading republicans, the noble, law-abiding democrats are passing a bill that will limit their power, and ability to profit from their publicly-elected positions of government service.

    It is so obvious that the repubs are bad, and the dems are good.

    Thanks for posting.

    What?

    Yes, I will have more Kool-Aid, thank you!


    :roll:
  • Thanks gimmie.. I knew I could count on you. We very rarely agree when it comes to politics,but this is just fucked up. I think when more and more people start to realize that 90% of the politicians don't give a shit about us more people will start to pay attention. For example I very rarely even watch fox or any cable news for that matter. I watch cspan and get my news from independent web sites or I read books. But I digress..

    These people are the worst of the worst. We are now living in a post constitutional country. They took an oath and swore to abide by our Constitution yet they try to evade it any chance they get.


    Agreed.
  • mikepegg44mikepegg44 Posts: 3,353
    Thank you for commenting Mp44 :)


    You guys really need to watch that " 60 minutes"clip on this. I mean if this doesn't get your attention nothing will. I'll give it another day or so but I'm pretty surprised by the lack of comments so far on this thread. I'm starting to realize that people will follow their party no matter how corrupt they are. And furthermore I find it very refreshing that a Conservative broke this story and had no problem going after the (R) est. And wait until you see how speaker Boehner just lies his fucking ass off. It's pretty fucking discusting and it got my blood presure way up :x


    Throw them all out
    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... est-graft/

    that will get your blood boiling
    that’s right! Can’t we all just get together and focus on our real enemies: monogamous gays and stem cells… - Ned Flanders
    It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
    - Joe Rogan
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    i don't understand why the gop opposed stopping this... do they want to stand on the side of good ethics or do they want to profit from insider information?

    pelosi is just as guilty.

    to me it seems that getting elected is the hard part. then everything else that comes to you is just the gravy...
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • mikepegg44mikepegg44 Posts: 3,353
    i don't understand why the gop opposed stopping this... do they want to stand on the side of good ethics or do they want to profit from insider information?

    pelosi is just as guilty.

    to me it seems that getting elected is the hard part. then everything else that comes to you is just the gravy...


    do you really wonder that? it is kind of like wondering if water is wet :lol:
    that’s right! Can’t we all just get together and focus on our real enemies: monogamous gays and stem cells… - Ned Flanders
    It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
    - Joe Rogan
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    i want to hear these people in the gop actually defend their opposition to this ban. like REALLY defend the thought process that they can go work in a government position where they are privy to business and market secrets that the rest of us are not so that they can become even wealthier by manipulating the market into their favor. there is no defense for that. especially on a moral or ethical grounds.

    we send these assholes there to work for us, not game the system and sell us down the river while they line their own pockets. they should not be able to profit off of these insider deals. i mean, for real, go serve a couple of terms in congress, write your damn book, and make the money off of the book about your accomplishments...it's a really easy formula...
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Here's the book


    http://www.amazon.com/Throw-Them-All-Pe ... 041&sr=1-1


    One of the biggest scandals in American politics is waiting to explode: the full story of the inside game in Washington shows how the permanent political class enriches itself at the expense of the rest of us. Insider trading is illegal on Wall Street, yet it is routine among members of Congress. Normal individuals cannot get in on IPOs at the asking price, but politicians do so routinely. The Obama administration has been able to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to its supporters, ensuring yet more campaign donations. An entire class of investors now makes all of its profits based on influence and access in Washington. Peter Schweizer has doggedly researched through mountains of financial records, tracking complicated deals and stock trades back to the timing of briefings, votes on bills, and every other point of leverage for politicians in Washington. The result is a manifesto for revolution: the Permanent Political Class must go.
  • i don't understand why the gop opposed stopping this... do they want to stand on the side of good ethics or do they want to profit from insider information?

    pelosi is just as guilty.

    to me it seems that getting elected is the hard part. then everything else that comes to you is just the gravy...


    I do.. They're guilty as fuck dude. Did you see how speaker Boehner reacted ? I'm just so sick being lied to by these scumbags.. :x what's even worse is that there are a handful that do want do the right thing and they cant.
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    Thanks gimmie.. I knew I could count on you. We very rarely agree when it comes to politics,but this is just fucked up. I think when more and more people start to realize that 90% of the politicians don't give a shit about us more people will start to pay attention. For example I very rarely even watch fox or any cable news for that matter. I watch cspan and get my news from independent web sites or I read books. But I digress..

    These people are the worst of the worst. We are now living in a post constitutional country. They took an oath and swore to abide by our Constitution yet they try to evade it any chance they get.
    yeah man, i agree with you. i know that you and i rarely agree on politics, but most times i think we can agree on right and wrong, and what these people are doing is flat out wrong. no matter what side of the political spectrum they are on, this is just wrong. the rules allowing people to profit from insider trading need to be changed. badly...
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    i don't understand why the gop opposed stopping this... do they want to stand on the side of good ethics or do they want to profit from insider information?

    pelosi is just as guilty.

    to me it seems that getting elected is the hard part. then everything else that comes to you is just the gravy...


    I do.. They're guilty as fuck dude. Did you see how speaker Boehner reacted ? I'm just so sick being lied to by these scumbags.. :x what's even worse is that there are a handful that do want do the right thing and they cant.
    i saw how boehner reacted and my first thought was "this guy is full of shit"... he pretty much lied in that press conference. i am sure that he, like everyone else gets a quarterly account summary of how his portfolio is doing. he sees the money he has made increasing. sometimes by a few hundred grand.....how could he not know how he is making a killing in the market when everyone else is taking a beating???
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,154
    Well that ended pretty quickly. The STOCK Act was gutted. I guess they missed being able to cheat the stock market.

    Nice to see both parties working together efficiently and without any bickering. :roll:

    http://www.newburyportnews.com/opinion/x266751605/Congress-makes-a-mockery-of-stock-act
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
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