WASHINGTON – Today, after President Obama signed into law House legislation prohibiting government officials from engaging in illegal trading practices, House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., issued the following statement:

“Today, the President signed into law important legislation crafted by the House that will assure American taxpayers that elected and appointed officials – from all branches of government – adhere to federal laws prohibiting illegal trading practices. It not only clarifies the application of current insider trading laws, but it also creates new, enhanced disclosure requirements and trading prohibitions vital to maintaining government accountability.

“As civil servants, we must be held to a higher level of scrutiny that instills public confidence in our ability to put the needs of our constituents before our own personal financial gain. Though we create and uphold the laws of the land, we are not above them.

“I thank House Leadership for the opportunity given to House Administration to help craft legislation that bolsters the public’s trust in government.”

The STOCK Act (S. 2038) passed the Senate by a vote of 96-3 on February 2, 2012. During consideration in the House, the bill was strengthened in a number of ways. The House, with help from the Committee on House Administration, added a provision prohibiting senior executive and legislative branch officials from benefitting from preferential terms on initial public offerings and extended the bill’s insider trading provisions to senior officials of the executive and judicial branches.

In addition, the House applied the STOCK Act’s requirements for reporting financial transactions and placing disclosure reports on the Internet, along with restrictions on post-employment negotiations, to the executive branch. The House then passed the amended bill by a vote of 417-2 on February 9, and the Senate agreed to the amendments on March 22.
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