Political Quotes

“Woman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairwoman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2534, the Insider Trading Prohibition Act, introduced by the gentleman from Connecticut, Representative Jim Himes. This long overdue bill creates a clear definition of illegal insider trading under the securities laws so that there is a codified, consistent standard for courts and market participants to better protect the hard-earned savings of millions of Americans and bring certainty to the U.S. securities market. For nearly 80 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission--that is, the SEC--has sought to hold corporate insiders accountable for insider trading through general statutory antifraud provisions and rules it has promulgated under those provisions. This has resulted in a web of court decisions that generally prohibit insiders with a duty of trust and confidence to a corporation from secretly trading on material, nonpublic corporate information for their own personal gain. These insiders are also generally prohibited from tipping outsiders, known as tippees, who then trade on the information themselves, even though they know it was wrongfully obtained. But, because there isn't a statutory definition of ``insider trading,'' there is uncertainty around who is subject to insider trading prohibitions; and, with various court decisions, liability for this type of violation has shifted.…”