STOCK Act to Recieve a Vote Next Week.

Next week, the United States senate will vote on a bill that, if enacted, would ban the trading of corporate stocks by members of congress based on non-public information. The bill, known as the STOCK Act (Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act) was authored by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) and Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R).

President Obama specifically asked for a bill that would stop congressional insider trading in his State of the Union speech last Tuesday. On top of preventing trades based on non-public knowledge, the stock act would prevent members of congress from giving stock tips to others and force congressmen and congresswomen to publicly disclose each transaction they make within 30 days.

The bill has bipartisan support in Big Sky Country. Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg co-sponsored the bill back in mid-November and Senator Jon Tester has publicly announced his support for the bill saying that “The STOCK Act brings much-needed accountability to Congress and should be an easy lift. I don’t care if you work on Wall Street or in Congress – you should not be using privileged information to enrich yourself.”