Political Quotes

“I thank very much Madam Chairwoman for yielding, and, again, to the ranking member. It is a delight, as I said before, to come right out with a bipartisan bill that really addresses the fundamental question of confidence in our markets. H.R. 624--and I will be proud to vote for it and urge my colleagues to do the same--closes a number of technical loopholes that have allowed corporate insiders over time flexibility to actually trade possibly on inside information. That, of course, has the effect of causing regular investors to wonder whether they want to compete with that sort of player in the market. H.R. 624 is a terrific bipartisan, thoughtful bill right out of the gates in the Financial Services Committee. I want to just take 30 seconds, though, to reflect on the fact that at this point in time, there is currently no Federal law explicitly prohibiting insider trading. That requires the SEC and the Department of Justice to rely on general antifraud provisions in the law to go after people suspected of insider trading. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just like to urge the committee, the chairwoman and the ranking member, to reflect on the words of U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who wrote: ``But if unlawful insider trading is to be properly deterred, it must be adequately defined. The appropriate body to do so, one would think, is Congress.'' Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman and ranking member for their hard work on this bill.…”