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Congress Exempts Most Federal Workers From Key Insider Trading Reporting Requirement
Back in 2012, amid "intense pressure from Obama" including an appeal for its passage in his 2012 State of the Union address, Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act (with 96-3 theatrical votes in the Senate, and 417-2 even more theatrical votes in the House) - a bill prohibiting the use of non-public information for private profit, including insider trading by members of Congress and other government employees. It is unclear why until 2012 it was perfectly legal for congress to trade on inside information, something we pointed out in May 2011 when we wrote that a "A Hedge Fund Comprised Of Junior Congressional Democrats Should Outperform The Market By 9%" as it turned out flagrant insider trading abuse occurred mostly within the democrat ranks of the House (compared to a mere 2%+ outperformance by Congressional stock trading republicans).
It turns out that any cynical skepticism regarding Congress' ability and willingness to police itself was well founded, as last night the House eliminated a "key requirement of the insider trading law for most federal employees, passing legislation exempting these workers, including congressional staff, from a rule scheduled to take effect next week that mandated online posting of financial transactions."
The reason why one will have to take Congress at its word that it is not breaking the law? Because apparently posting Congress' financial dealings online would be pose a "national risk" according to the National Academy of Public Administration.
Surely this explains why the bill was rushed and voted in the matter of hours: one can't have a debate over matters of "national security" especially if the financial well-being of Congress is at risk. As Washington Times recaps, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, introduced the bill on Thursday and had the chamber vote on it late that evening. The House took the bill up on Friday afternoon and passed it by unanimous consent, with no members objecting. Republican leaders did not give lawmakers the traditional three days to read the bill before holding a vote. One GOP aide told The Washington Times the three-day rule did not apply to Friday’s action because the bill came from the Senate, while another said the House moved quickly because of a Monday deadline for the new disclosure mandates to take effect."
In other words, while the STOCK Act passed nearly unanimously in 2012 just to show how "honest" congress is, the follow up legislation that effectively undoes the key reporting requirement of said anti-inside trading law passed just as unanimously, allowing congress to have its shady dealings cake, and eat its non-inside trading reputation too.
That both democrats and republicans rushed to pass this provision shows just how truly engrained the unwillingness for true transparency in Congress is.
Obviously, the justification spin for eliminating the key STOCK act provision was ready and just waiting to be unleashed:
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's spokesman Rory Cooper told CNN the decision to enact new legislation now was in direct response to the study.
"In December when we extended the STOCK Act deadline for public disclosure of Financial Disclosures, we required a study by the non-partisan and independent National Academy of Public Administration. This was their recommendation, and the House and Senate agreed it was the best course of action for the time being," Cooper told CNN in a written statement.
In other words, according to the "nonpartisan and independent" NAPA, having Congressional financial documents online represents a national security risk. Because somehow terrorists will terrorize the US even more when they know on what days Nancy Pelosi bought and sold the S&P 500.
Federal employees began expressing concerns about the national security risks of posting personal financial information online soon after government agencies moved to implement the STOCK Act last year.
Online posting was supposed to begin August 31, 2012, but Congress passed extensions three separate times pushing off the compliance date.
In December, the last time the House and Senate approved another extension signed by the president, they also directed the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), a non-profit group of public management experts chartered by Congress, to study whether there were real security risks associated with putting this kind of financial information on the Internet.
...
Part of the law required that senior government officials’ financial disclosure reports — which they are already required to submit in paper — be made available online in a searchable, sortable format. The belief was that publishing them online would make it easier for reporters and the public to try to spot illicit dealings.
The online disclosure provisions had not yet taken effect, and Congress asked NAPA to review the law.
In a report release last month a five-member NAPA panel said online posting would mean more sensitive information about high-level government employees would be easily available, which would make identify theft easier.
“An open, online, searchable and exploitable database of personal financial information about senior federal employees will provide easy access to ‘high quality’ personal information on ‘high value’ targets,” NAPA officials said in their report.
The Defense Department told NAPA that online disclosure would mean hostile nations would have easy access to sensitive personal information about top national security officials.
Because "hostile nations" have nothing better to do than trade alongside Congressmen with the usual 13F, 45-day delay. In the meantime, those who truly would benefit from this transparency: the media, or least those very few in the media who have not been bought by Congress just yet, and are willing to check which members of Congress are now actively breaking the STOCK law, will have their work cut out for them.
At least someone spoke up, although their objection will be promptly ignored and forgotten.
One advocacy group pushing for greater government transparency blasted the move, saying it “guts" the law.
"Not only does the change undermine the intent of the original bill to ensure government insiders are not profiting from non-public information, it sets an extraordinarily dangerous precedent suggesting that any risks stem not from information being public but from public information being online,” Lisa Rosenberg of the Sunlight Foundation wrote in a statement.
Yet, fundamentally all last night's accelerate revision to the STOCK act does is pray on the laziness of "terrorist" and, of course, reporters:
With this change those federal workers would still have to report any securities trades over the law's $1,000 threshold within 45 days. While these reports would be publicly available, they would no longer be posted online in a format that anyone can search or download.
So basically "hostile nations" can still access all the data, however it will be in paper format. And this avoids national security risks just how?
Of course, if indeed this is merely a bet on the laziness of the financial media, it is probably safe one. After all it appears that said financial media would rather spend hours discussing and lamenting the sad future of the financial media, especially how slideshows of kittens are part of the great profitability strategy...
... than actually doing any financial media stuff, like reporting. After all why bother: one can always pray someone else will do the actual work, and everyone else can just do what modern "financial media" is so truly good at: CTRL-C and CTRL-V.
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All men are equal. The fat pigs are just MOAR equal.
Power corrupts. And the corrupt seem to be the ones who end up in power.
This is why I voted for Ron Paul and then for Gary Johnson. I thought they really didn't want the job so much as they thought the country was so fucked up that the country needed them right then. Next time I'm voting "Tyler Durden." At least the Tylers would share the insider information so that we could all make a little fiat....
Congress exempts most federal workers from the consequences of their actions.
Now the PM smackdown is becoming clearer.
They instituted that, thinking it would keep the tin-foil types busy this weekend and so we would ignore this "routine" national security vote.
and not a peep from anyone...even the Libertarians were too busy talking about gay rights to notice
Anyone who still votes for any of these crooks deserves to be fleeced.
Anyone who still votes at all is simply wasting their time.
The system is far far too gamed.
i think we probably should be looking at "post trade adjustments"...you know ..betting after the race has run....
Wednesday: News breaks that Fed 'accidentally' sent insider info to TBTF banks and Congress.
Thursday: Harry Reid introduces bill, Congressional (+ staffers) trades must be kept secret.
Any questions?
Yes. When do we decide that since the law doesn't apply to government officials, bankers, and other assorted well-connected assholes, the law no longer applies to us, either — at which point we commence taking their heads as trophies?
As soon as someone figures out how to prevent the next fluoride delivery to the NYC and/or DC water supply.
Check the ingredients on Prozac.
It's made from flouride.
Tap water is Prozac.
Makes sense now doesn't it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R3nXvScRazg#!
29 years ago a Russian KGB defector predicts what we are seeing and how we have reached this point.
The danger is real, he said.
sure thing
here's the how to demo: http://tinyurl.com/czegrmg
"at which point we commence taking their heads as trophies?"
YUP.
There must come a time where people, EN MASS, start standing up. Sending your corrupt politicians Twitter messages, Facebook posts and email messages is a joke.
But Insider trading by CONgress is still illegal?
Just reporting not necessary?
Easier to hide, harder to prosecute?
Insider trading by CONgress has never been illeagal.
This is for the Postal Workers and TSA.
Rules are for thee...
not for me!
We are born equally helpless and we die once. We all get what we are willing to settle for. Human intelligence is pathetic. Every life is a riddle, otherwise Bobby Sands is right now consulting a demiurge what to do with Thatcher. I have James Clerk Maxwell's genes, whereas Darwin was an inbred mutant; like Clinton. I am not going to help these darwinitic mutants. They are not equal to the offices they hold. Tiocfaidh ar la
.
Ok, so let me see if I got this right:
The Federal government passes a law that prohibits Federal employees from trading on insider congressional information...and then attaches an amendment to that law that EXEMPTS Federal employees from said law?
Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously?
Obviously you do not care about the "national security"
Nor am I worried about being attacked by vampires while jogging at night...but I'm just crazy like that.
.
Tagged as domestic terrist.
again?....(sigh)
3 strikes and you're out, dude...
they're down 25 billion in the Facebook "phuck their minds" IPO...and they need to get that money now...OR ELSE! Show a little understanding will ya? Besides if Japan and South Korea force the USA's hand into a pre-emptive strike into the North well, let's just say those are powerful enemies to have...probably the most powerful in American History. Now let's here from the REAL B-52's shall we: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leohcvmf8kM phuck you Kim Jong Last. i hope they'll be rocking downtown Seoul next weekend...with a million people out just for fun.
"Cast your fate to the wind" I,m in a misic thing tonite. Milestones
We all know who the REAL bloodsuckers are!
Your surprise is understandable. But I just finished a séance in which I was communicating with George Orwell, and after I quoted this article, he scoffed and assumed that we were having a transmission problem.
The real trick will be exempting themselves from the guillotine. hujel
Ain't gonna happen.
Oath Keeps my ass.
There is an evil hostile nation called Transparency and Ethics.
Apparently they can launch WMDs at us in 45mins! Their leader calls himself O'Interest. Conflict O'Interest.
That figures, one set of rules for the rich and one set of rules for the poor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS2Z19yTuPI
Ah, they're being forced to expand the franchise... good move, I support it. /sarc
Joke of the day/ Exclusive: G20 to consider cutting debt to well below 90 percent/GDP: document | Reuters
Idiotic article of the day/ Europe needs a TARP but first it needs at Hank Paulson | ForexLive
... and, they all took comfort in the devine province of rome-- minding their selfish affairs, and counting their dilluted silver and polished gold... all the while the barbarian's were at the four gate's-- we all know how the story ends...
Criminals, every last damned one of them.........
Translation: Can't let the bloggers see this shit, or anything could happen.
FORWARD!!
The following is something I saw someone post just the other day. I can't remeber who it was but I like it a lot...
FAIRWARD!
Nancy Pelosi must have left a 10 foot 'snail track' on the senate floor, after that was passed.
I would imagine her to be as dry as the Sahara desert
You're both grossing me out.
They won't prosecute any REAL insiders anyways so the exemption makes sense as there will be less SEC studs watching PORN.
Obama, the transparent president, bringing us all together! They're the ones we've been waiting for! Forward!
God....just imagine the consequences of some remote chance that some undefined potential identity theft of a federal government employee occurred! Unthinkable.
It is far better to operate our government under a cloak of secrecy to avoid that potential threat. I mean to say, we all trust these guys 100% anyways.
Same as it ever was.....
It's only "fair"
does anyone know of a wall in DC that would be long enough to line all of the fucking bastards up for a firing squad? looks like the only way this shit is ever going to be corrected.
If not , use the wailing wall.
+1
At certain times there's usually a goodly amount of posturing US politicians @ that 10-20.
The Vietnam War Memorial and a bunch of Vets would work, but they probably wouldn't want to damaage the wall of names behind.
Use dums dums. There should be plenty lying around.
The Vietnam Memorial wall? It would be a good starting point...and symbolic irony as well.
Since this is the end of page 1 of the posts somebody has probably already beaten me to a/this suggestion.
only executions can fix the county now.
With total assets confiscation of entire family tree.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....................
"It's Good To Be The King."
It's good to be the one close to the king... and second to that it's good to be close to those who are close to the king.
Being king in general can be precarious if you lose support.
Ah, the Shadows of Powers. The Power Behind The Throne (and their families & friends). /s
All FUCKING government employees?
Jesus Christ
They've broadened the scam!
these people are the filth of the earth. their existence is nothing more than that of a parasite
if not for zerohedge it would never be reported
There are days when I swear that Obama & Team are The Manchurian Candidate & The Fifth Column. No foreign power could wish for a better agent to ruin the country more profoundly with... charm and "good intentions". I swear.
A good Friend has a theory that everything left unchecked will eventually buckle under it's own weight....
after watching all this for the past few years I am beginning to believe that's all the hope we got.
Yeah I liked him too. But he was one of them, and they want us dead.
Stiglitz is out.
Rule-of-law deader than the economy and sound money (which are being given Last Rites).
The rule-of-law h ave been replaced by the law-of-the-jungle and unsound money so act accordingly.
When do we start building the gallows?
Fuck the gallows. Some piano wire and a grove of sturdy oak trees should do nicely.
What a sad state this world has entered into where corruption is considered a right for a select few to be protected by law.
"Do as I say, not as I do."
I do think that each election shows some change but not enough. I guess there comes a point where ineffective change leads to revolution and/or a change in the form of government.
I'm not sure why joe weisenthatl is on the panel. Anything he is involved with I refuse to participate in. eg. the business insider.
How to disseminate this public information broadly:
Set up a website business that requests on a 45-day periodic basis all $1000+ in value trades by all of the US' Finest.
Receive said public documentation. Scan it. Post the available data to website for free downloading.
Fund said website by advertising model.
All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
It's good to trust others but, not to do so is much better.
The function of a citizen and a soldier are inseparable.
War is to man what maternity is to a woman. From a philosophical and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace.
Those who know some history will recognize the pattern
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benito_mussolini.html
Thanks for Benito's quotes. Milestones
I prefer Vilfredo Pareto. As forced catholics go. Ayn Rand would have liked him. Isn't it nice we get to armchair judge our ancestors, as we hurtle blindly into the future?
Limestones
There is no greater threat to National Security than themselves
The criminals are running the Justus system so proceed with your illegal behavior as usual.
Beware if your honest or a whistle-blower you may end up in jail.
All you need to know about RP is that he thrived in the swamp for 30 years, and his british israelite son inherited his contributor list and shared it with Michelle Bachmann.
cocksuckers
Didn't Miss Suzy Homemaker, Martha Stewart, go to jail for same as these Congressional Crooks and liars are doing?
It makes you wonder about What they are using the N.Korea garbage to distract people from. Probably something even worse than this.
quote from a zerohedge contributor:
biggest criminal syndicate in human history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_market