On Thursday, February 2, the Senate voted 96-3 in favor of its version of the STOCK Act, which bans members of Congress and their staff from trading based on inside information.  A few proposed amendments to the STOCK Act made it into the final bill passed by the Senate, including one which would actually revoke the pension of anyone convicted of insider trading under the law, according to the Boston Globe. Following the vote, President Obama expressed his approval of the bipartisan action to pass the STOCK Act, and pledged to sign it immediately if the House of Representatives will pass this bill.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stated yesterday that it was his "intention" for the House to consider the Senate-passed STOCK Act on the House floor next week. This is an interesting development because as discussed here by Professor Stephen Bainbridge, Cantor had previously suggested that he intended to add many additional provisions to the House version of the STOCK Act "so it includes land deals and other types of transactions and not just stock trades." Bainbridge argued that Cantor appeared to be hoping that "including a vast array of economic activity within the bill, exposing members of Congress to disclosure obligations and other restrictions, as well as increasing their liability exposure, will make the bill sufficiently unpopular so as to prevent its passage." 

We will see next week whether or not Cantor actually allows a straightforward vote on the Senate bill, as promised.

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