The STOCK Act, signed into law in 2012, emerged as a response to growing concerns about insider trading within the United States Congress. Its primary purpose is to enhance transparency and accountability among lawmakers by prohibiting the use of non-public information for personal financial gain.
By requiring members of Congress and high-ranking executive branch officials to disclose their financial transactions promptly, the STOCK Act aims to uphold the public’s trust in the integrity of the nation’s leaders and maintain the ethical standards essential for effective governance.
Ethics Committee Chair Breached STOCK Act twice
That’s how it’s supposed to be, at least, but even those who enforce the act are allegedly breaching it.
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Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee – which is responsible for enforcing the STOCK Act – traded an estimated $500,000 in stock and options in 2023.
He violated the act two times during this period, trading data platform Quiver Quantitative alleged on November 21.
Among the stock market moves Guest made this year were purchases of Uranium Energy Corporation (NYSE American: UEC), Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET), and International Seaways (NYSE: INSW).
The US representative has not been penalized for his violations of the STOCK Act, Quiver Quantitative emphasized.
Ethics Committee members with the most violations
As the popular X account explained in a separate tweet, the STOCK Act “was intended to combat insider trading by politicians.”
However, even the House Ethics Committee, which enforces it, rarely plays by the rules.
Instead, its members “often break the law themselves,” Quiver noted, with some of them accumulating a staggering number of violations.
According to the account, two House Ethics Committee members who by far have the most STOCK Act violations are John Rutherford (152) and David Joyce (136).
Guest, whom we’ve discussed today, has 2, while Deborah Ross has 1.
None of the aforementioned representatives have been penalized for their transgressions.
