Why Three Senators Said No To An Insider Trading Ban In Congress

Why Three Senators Said No To An Insider Trading Ban In Congress - 2/3/2012

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Why Three Senators Said No To An Insider Trading Ban In Congress, Three senators explain their votes against a no brainer.
Tory Newmyer

. February 3, 2012
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EXCERPT The measure the Senate approved Thursday to ban lawmakers from stock trading on inside information didn't just pass. It waltzed through the chamber, gathering a whopping 96-vote majority in a bipartisan display that's become rare in the extreme these days. It's no wonder it proved popular: the bill closed a glaring loophole in Congressional ethics rules allowing Members of Congress and their staffs to trade on market-moving tips they gather in the course of their work. The problem was highlighted by a 60 Minutes report that stoked public anger at an institution already less popular than Paris Hilton. So considering the bill could have as easily been called the No Brainer Act, how could anyone vote against it? Well, three people found reasons: Republican Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) and Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.). Their explanations varied. Burr opposed it because he thinks it's redundant. "Laws regarding insider trading that apply to the American people also apply to Members of Congress and their staff," Burr spokesman David Ward said. In fact, the rules are anything but clear, as the Wall Street Journal notes, and the Securities and Exchange Commission's top cop has said making the practice a statutory no-no would ease prosecution of violators. Coburn said the bill fixes the wrong problem, telling the New York Times, "The assumption here is that some of our colleagues are doing insider trading on the stock market. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real insider trading is the horse-trading that goes on in this body that is not always in the best interest of the country." […]

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