Guinta Applauds Passage of STOCK Act Banning Insider Trading for Congress and Executive Branch

Statement

Representative Frank Guinta (R, NH-01) issued the following statement after the House passage of S. 2038, the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act. It was approved this morning in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 417 to 2. Rep.Guinta was an early cosponsor of the House's version, H.R. 1148.

In short, the STOCK Act would prohibit Members of Congress, employees of Congress and the Executive Branch, and all federal employees from using any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position or gained from performance of the individual's duties, for personal benefit.

"The men and women who serve their country by working in Washington must be held to a higher standard," Guinta said after the vote. "I demonstrated that by cosponsoring the House version of the bill, HR 1148.

"When Granite Staters sent me to Capitol Hill, they told me to convey the message that they will no longer stand for the status quo. Members of Congress and the Executive Branch, as well as their staffers, are often privy to sensitive information on a daily basis. We must ensure that this information is used to serve our nation's best interests, and not for personal gain.

"In the past year, I've fought to get rid of automatic pay raises for Members of Congress, voted to reform the pension system and have cut my own office's budget twice -- yielding an 11.4% total reduction. As an early cosponsor of the STOCK Act, I'm pleased to see the passage of another necessary reform. Granite Staters can be assured I will continue fighting to change the broken culture of Washington at every turn."

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