House passes bill on lawmakers using insider information for stock trading

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ostensibly prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks.In a 232-198 vote in the House on Wednesday, lawmakers approved the Stop Insider Trading Act, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration. Representative Bryan Steil, the Wisconsin lawmaker who sponsored the bill, said that the legislation “ensures no lawmaker can profit off of insider information” and “institutes strict penalties for any violation.” “We have not had a bill on the House floor on this topic with this opportunity before,” said Steil from the House floor on Wednesday, describing the penalties:“A fine equal to $2,000 or 10% of the transaction, as well as a disgorgement of profits. Violators would be forfeiting any gain realized if they failed to comply with this legislation.” Some Democrats are saying that the bill does not go far enough to address potential conflicts of interest, because it allows lawmakers to keep and sell stocks they already own. According to Steil, the bill would require members of Congress to provide seven days’ notice before selling stocks if they already hold assets...