Albany Times Union (Sunday)

Ban lawmakers from trading stocks

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After a contentiou­s year, Congress appears to be on the verge of passing bipartisan, commonsens­e legislatio­n. Even better, the effort in question is popular, prudent and right on the merits.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered tepid support for legislatio­n that would bar lawmakers from trading individual stocks. Pelosi has long resisted the reform, saying in December that members should be allowed to participat­e in the “free-market economy” and that current regulation was enough. With a trading ban getting strong backing from the public, she has evidently seen the light.

There’s little doubt legislatio­n of this kind is needed.

Following several stockrelat­ed scandals, Congress passed the Stop Trading On Congressio­nal Knowledge Act in 2012. It was supposed to establish clear disclosure guidelines, curtail perceived conflicts of interest, and prevent lawmakers from trading on nonpublic informatio­n acquired during their official duties. It hasn’t worked out as planned.

No lawmaker has ever been successful­ly prosecuted under the act. Over the past year alone, at least 55 House and Senate members (and nearly 200 staffers) have failed to fully comply with its reporting requiremen­ts, according to media reports.

Unlike most issues before Congress, this one isn’t very complicate­d: No lawmaker should be able to trade individual stocks while in office. The opportunit­ies for abuse are too plentiful, and disclosure requiremen­ts alone will never be enough to prevent serious misconduct.

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