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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) has become a co-sponsor of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, H.R. 1148. The bill would ban members of Congress and federal employees from trading stock based on nonpublic information they receive during their work.

“Currently, insider trading rules only apply to Wall Street and not Members of Congress and their staff,” said Rep. Latta. “I believe the same standards we have established for Wall Street, should apply to Congress. There is no good reason why Congress should play by a different set of rules in the stock market," added Rep. Latta.

What the STOCK Act Does:

• Prohibits Members, their staff, Executive branch employees, and any other person from buying or selling securities, swaps, or commodity futures based on congressional and executive branch nonpublic information; It also requires more timely disclosure of financial transactions above $1,000 for those Members and staff that are already required to file annual financial disclosures;
• Amends House ethics rules to prohibit Members and their employees from disclosing any non-public information about any pending or prospective legislative action for investment purposes; and
• Requires firms that specialize in “political intelligence” who use information obtained from Congress to make financial transactions to register with the House and Senate – just like lobbying firms are now required to do.