Politics and Money

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Obama Signs Law Gutting Insider Trading Regulations For Congress

Yesterday President Obama signed a law that gutted the reporting requirements originally included in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Before these changes were made the STOCK Act required congressional staffers to disclose their finances to the public to help ensure they were not engaging in corrupt practices.

But on second thought, President Obama and Congress decided that congressional staffers should be able to escape transparency.

President Obama quietly signed legislation Monday that rolled back a provision of the STOCK Act that required high-ranking federal employees to disclose their financial information online.

The White House announced Monday that the president had signed S. 716, which repealed a requirement of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requiring the disclosure, which had previously been delayed several times by Congress.

You never heard of this political project to reinstate corruption incentives? Don’t be surprised.

Both chambers of Congress quickly — and near silently — approved the repeal legislation at the end of last week by unanimous consent, just before heading home to their districts.

That’s right. Unanimous consent, no one wanted to put their name down as openly supporting corruption while supporting corruption. And now President Obama has signed the bill guaranteeing a more corrupt Washington.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/04/16/obama-signs-law-gutting-insider-trading-regulations-for-congress/