Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am delighted to rise today in support of the STOCK Act and in support of amendment No. 1481 that my colleague from Ohio has put forward to address the fundamental issues of conflict of interest that reside here in our body. Let me start with the defining principle; that is, there should not be one set of rules for Members of Congress and a different set of rules for ordinary Americans. I think the citizens of the United States of America in every State understand that principle. Everyone else in the country has to abide by rules that say they cannot profit in the stock market from privileged information. There is no reason those rules should not apply to Members of Congress. Indeed, Members of Congress at any given time can hold access to immense amounts of information from previews of economic forecasts, from advanced knowledge of events affecting major employers in their State, to classified defense information that might have implications for, for example, the oil market. Under the right circumstances, all of this information can provide insider knowledge of which ways the markets are likely to move. So I am delighted that this body has voted overwhelmingly to move forward with the STOCK Act.…”