On the recordJanuary 30, 2012
as to the STOCK Act, I am glad to see that spirit of cooperation is alive as we move forward. At least I hope so. It is bipartisan legislation. Members of Congress and their staff have a duty to the American people. They may not use privileged information they get on the job to personally profit. But the perception remains that a few Members of Congress are using their positions as public servants to serve themselves instead. Insider trading laws were created to level the playing field and stop Wall Street excesses. And Members of Congress are not above the law. We must play by the same rules by which every other American plays. The STOCK Act will clear up any perception that it is acceptable for Members of Congress to profit from insider training. It will end any confusion over whether Members of Congress can be prosecuted for their serious crime. They can be. I am really disappointed that I had to file cloture to stop a Republican filibuster on this worthy legislation, but I did. Rather than let us move to this, we had to file cloture to stop this filibuster. So when we get on this bill--and we will get on this bill-- we are going to have an open amendment process. It is my wish that Republicans will not abuse the comity that should be here in the Senate, and I hope these amendments that are offered will not be nongermane, nonrelevant. I hope we can legislate on issues that are in the context of this legislation.…
