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The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics — news that comes at an uncomfortable time, since Bachus is currently in the midst of a re-election fight.
February 10 -
The House version of the STOCK Act does not require political intelligence firms to register as lobbyists. Now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must decide whether to fight for the provision.
February 9 -
Support for a clearer ban is widespread since a 60 Minutes report suggested lawmakers — including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus — traded on nonpublic information, but members are still debating the scope of the legislation.
December 6 -
Following an investigative report by 60 Minutes, support has grown rapidly this week for legislation that seeks to stop members of Congress from profiting from their own inside knowledge.
November 17 -
Financial Services chairman says he never used insider information in making trades, and the market's poor state in 2008 was well-known.
November 16 -
A new book and piece by 60 Minutes have raised issues about whether Rep. Spencer Bachus traded on private information he received from regulators during the financial crisis.
November 15
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation Thursday aimed at cracking down on insider trading by members of Congress and other federal employees.
The measure, which is identical to a version that the House has already approved, passed the Senate by unanimous consent. It now goes to the White House where President Obama is expected to sign it.
The legislation, known as the STOCK Act, increases financial-disclosure requirements for members of Congress, their staffers and officials in the executive branch. It rode a wave of negative publicity late last year about members of Congress who used information they gleaned from their jobs to make profitable investments.
Among the lawmakers featured in a "60 Minutes" report on the issue was House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, who, the report said, profited from trades after a September 2008 meeting with top financial regulators. The Office of Congressional Ethics later opened an investigation of the matter. Bachus has denied wrongdoing.
The legislation passed Thursday did not include two amendments that were in a previous version the Senate passed earlier this year. That included an amendment - authored by Republican Sen. Charles Grassley and of interest to the financial services industry - that would have required firms that sell information about the political process to investors to register as lobbyists. Those firms, known as political intelligence consultants, often sell to hedge funds information they obtain from meetings on Capitol Hill.
