Stopping Insider Trading in Congress ...Sunday April 2, 2006 The Journal story dated March 26, 2006, is subscription based. So here are excerpts on our legislative effort to curb insider trading in Congress: Amid broad congressional concern about ethics scandals, some lawmakers are poised to expand the battle for reform: They want to enact legislation that would prohibit members of Congress and their aides from trading stocks based on nonpublic information gathered on Capitol Hill. Again just why did we introduce this legislation?: The two Democrats who wrote the bill say they were motivated by the trading activity of a former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, the onetime Republican majority leader in the House. The aide, Tony Rudy, bought and sold hundreds of stocks from his computer in the U.S. Capitol in 1999 and 2000, according to financial-disclosure forms and other DeLay aides. There are few issues here that are deeply troubling to us. First, there is a huge problem with a senior leadership staffer spending his days making stock trades instead of serving the people he is supposed to represent, as seems to have been the case with Mr. Rudy. This represents yet another compromise of the integrity of this leadership and another failure to impose accountability where it should have been already. Second, we need to find out whether or not Mr. Rudy was trading on sensitive nonpublic information he gained while working in Congress. More than likely only a full investigation could bear that out. Of course the deeper issue here is the vast potential for abuse. The possibility that members of congress and their staffs could use information not available to the public to make money in the stock market is very real. The fact that entire political intelligence firms exist for the sole purpose of garnering such information and trading on it suggests it happens more than any of us have ever imagined. The bottom line is, at the very least, individuals with access to non-public government information should be held to the same standards as any other American. There is a gaping hole in the law and it needs to be closed. People should come work in Congress to serve their country, not to enrich themselves. That is why we introduce legislation, which will bring those standards in line and give the SEC the power to enforce insider trading in Congress. It will also require reporting by members and staff on the trades they make, infusing some accountability into the process. Also, if there are any of you in this community who are expert day-traders or know a lot about this kind of market activity, we would be really interested to hear your thoughts and feedback on this. What other avenues can we pursue to get more information on Mr. Rudy’s day-trading activities on the Hill? Thank you! |
A friend sent this to me the other day. They came across this old video which brought back some great memories. I truly enjoy representing the people of the 28th district and it is my pleasure to continue to meet each and every one of you. I hope that you can make it to my ice cream social on September 27th, 2010. Sincerely, |
View The Site In: Deutsch | Espanol | Francais | Italiano | Portuguese | 日本語 | 한국 | 汉语 | English
Paid for by Louise Slaughter Re-Election Committee. Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Louise Slaughter Re-Election Committee, Post Office Box 730, Honeoye, New York 14471 | 585.697.0840 phone