II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1871 

To prohibit commodities and securities trading based on nonpublic information 

relating to Congress, to require additional reporting by Members and 

employees of Congress of securities transactions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To prohibit commodities and securities trading based on nonpublic information relating to Congress, to require additional reporting by Members and employees of Congress 

of securities transactions, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Trading on Con5 gressional Knowledge Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO CON2 GRESS AND OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 

3 (a) COMMODITIES TRANSACTIONS.—Section 4c of the 

4 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6c) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 551 of title 

10 5, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(B) MATERIAL NONPUBLIC INFORMA12 TION.—The term ‘material nonpublic informa13 tion’— 

14 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given the term 

15 by the Commission by rule; 

16 ‘‘(ii) includes any information that— 

17 ‘‘(I) a member or employee of 

18 Congress, or an employee of an agen19 cy, as applicable, gains by reason of 

20 that position or employment; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the member or employee 

22 knows or should know has not been 

23 made available to the general public; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(iii) includes information that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is routinely exempt from dis2 closure under section 552 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, or otherwise pro4 tected from disclosure by law (includ5 ing Executive orders and regulations); 

6 ‘‘(II) is designated as confidential 

7 by an agency; or 

8 ‘‘(III) has not actually been dis9 seminated to the general public and is 

10 not authorized to be made available to 

11 the public on request. 

12 ‘‘(2) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

13 CONGRESS.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this subsection, the Commission 

15 shall by rule prohibit any person from buying or sell16 ing any commodity for future delivery or swap while 

17 the person is in possession of material nonpublic in18 formation relating to any pending or prospective leg19 islative action relating to the commodity if— 

20 ‘‘(A) the information was obtained by rea21 son of the person being a Member or employee 

22 of Congress; or 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) the information was obtained from 

24 a Member or employee of Congress; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the person knows that the informa2 tion was so obtained. 

3 ‘‘(3) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

4 OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Not later than 270 

5 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

6 the Commission shall by rule prohibit any person 

7 from buying or selling any commodity for future de8 livery or swap while the person is in possession of 

9 material nonpublic information derived from Federal 

10 employment and relating to the commodity if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the information was obtained by rea12 son of the person being an employee of an 

13 agency; or 

14 ‘‘(B)(i) the information was obtained from 

15 an employee of an agency; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the person knows that the informa17 tion was so obtained.’’. 

18 (b) SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS.— 

19 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this sub20 section— 

21 (A) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the same mean22 ing as in section 551(1) of title 5, United 

23 States Code; 

24 (B) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Se25 curities and Exchange Commission; and 


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1 (C) the term ‘‘material nonpublic informa2 tion’’— 

3 (i) has the meaning given that term 

4 by rule of the Commission; and 

5 (ii) includes any information that a 

6 member or employee of Congress or an em7 ployee of an agency, as applicable, gains by 

8 reason of such position or employment, 

9 and that such member or employee knows 

10 or should know has not been made avail11 able to the general public, including infor12 mation that— 

13 (I) is routinely exempt from dis14 closure under section 552 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, or otherwise pro16 tected from disclosure by statute, Ex17 ecutive Order, or regulation; 

18 (II) is designated as confidential 

19 by an agency; or 

20 (III) has not actually been dis21 seminated to the general public and is 

22 not authorized to be made available to 

23 the public on request. 

24 (2) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

25 CONGRESS.—Not later than 270 days after the date 


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1 of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, by 

2 rule, prohibit any person from buying or selling the 

3 securities or security-based swaps of any issuer while 

4 such person is in possession of material nonpublic 

5 information relating to any pending or prospective 

6 legislative action relating to such issuer, if— 

7 (A) such information was obtained by rea8 son of such person being a Member or employee 

9 of Congress; or 

10 (B) such information was obtained from a 

11 Member or employee of Congress, and such per12 son knows that the information was so ob13 tained. 

14 (3) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

15 OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Not later than 270 

16 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

17 the Commission shall, by rule, prohibit any person 

18 from buying or selling the securities or security19 based swaps of any issuer while such person is in 

20 possession of material nonpublic information derived 

21 from Federal employment and relating to such 

22 issuer, if— 

23 (A) such information was obtained by rea24 son of such person being an employee of an 

25 agency; or 


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1 (B) such information was obtained from 

2 such an employee, and such person knows that 

3 the information was so obtained. 

4 SEC. 3. COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON IMPLEMENTATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Agriculture of 

6 the House of Representatives shall hold a hearing on the 

7 implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Com8 mission of subsections (h) and (i) of section 4c of the Com9 modity Exchange Act (as added by section 2(b) of this 

10 Act), and the Committee on Financial Services of the 

11 House of Representatives shall hold a hearing on the im12 plementation by the Securities Exchange Commission of 

13 subsections (d) and (e) of section 10 of the Securities Ex14 change Act of 1934 (as added by section 2(a) of this Act). 

15 (b) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Sub16 section (a) is enacted— 

17 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

18 the House of Representatives and, as such, shall be 

19 considered as part of the rules of the House, and 

20 such rules shall supersede any other rule of the 

21 House only to the extent that rule is inconsistent 

22 therewith; and 

23 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

24 right of the House to change such rules (so far as 

25 relating to the procedure in the House) at any time, 


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1 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

2 the case of any other rule of the House. 

3 SEC. 4. TIMELY REPORTING OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. 

4 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 103 of the 

5 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following subsection: 

7 ‘‘(l) Within 90 days after the purchase, sale, or ex8 change of any stocks, bonds, commodities futures, or other 

9 forms of securities that are otherwise required to be re10 ported under this Act and the transaction of which in11 volves at least $1,000 by any Member of Congress or offi12 cer or employee of the legislative branch required to so 

13 file, that Member, officer, or employee shall file a report 

14 of that transaction with the Clerk of the House of Rep15 resentatives in the case of a Representative in Congress, 

16 a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident Commissioner 

17 from Puerto Rico, or with the Secretary of the Senate in 

18 the case of a Senator.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 subsection (a) shall apply to transactions occurring on or 

21 after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI2 TIES UNDER LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclo4 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying activities’’ 

7 each place that term appears the following: ‘‘or 

8 political intelligence activities’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting after ‘‘lobbyists’’ the fol10 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence consultants’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(17) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.— 

15 The term ‘political intelligence activities’ means po16 litical intelligence contacts and efforts in support of 

17 such contacts, including preparation and planning 

18 activities, research, and other background work that 

19 is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in 

20 contacts, and coordination with such contacts and 

21 efforts of others. 

22 ‘‘(18) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE CONTACT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘political in24 telligence contact’ means any oral or written 

25 communication (including an electronic commu26 nication) to or from a covered executive branch 


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1 official or a covered legislative branch official, 

2 the information derived from which is intended 

3 for use in analyzing securities or commodities 

4 markets, or in informing investment decisions, 

5 and which is made on behalf of a client with re6 gard to— 

7 ‘‘(i) the formulation, modification, or 

8 adoption of Federal legislation (including 

9 legislative proposals); 

10 ‘‘(ii) the formulation, modification, or 

11 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex12 ecutive order, or any other program, policy, 

13 or position of the United States Govern14 ment; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) the administration or execution 

16 of a Federal program or policy (including 

17 the negotiation, award, or administration 

18 of a Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, 

19 or license). 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘political in21 telligence contact’ does not include a commu22 nication that is made by or to a representative 

23 of the media if the purpose of the communica24 tion is gathering and disseminating news and 

25 information to the public. 


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1 ‘‘(19) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE FIRM.—The 

2 term ‘political intelligence firm’ means a person or 

3 entity that has 1 or more employees who are polit4 ical intelligence consultants to a client other than 

5 that person or entity. 

6 ‘‘(20) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE CONSULT7 ANT.—The term ‘political intelligence consultant’ 

8 means any individual who is employed or retained by 

9 a client for financial or other compensation for serv10 ices that include one or more political intelligence 

11 contacts.’’. 

12 (b) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.—Section 4 of the 

13 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) by inserting after ‘‘whichever is 

18 earlier,’’ the following: ‘‘or a political intel19 ligence consultant first makes a political 

20 intelligence contact,’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘such lobbyist’’ 

22 each place that term appears the following: 

23 ‘‘or consultant’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after 

25 ‘‘lobbyists’’ each place that term appears the 


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1 following: ‘‘or political intelligence consultants’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

4 (i) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying activi5 ties’’ each place that term appears the fol6 lowing: ‘‘and political intelligence activi7 ties’’; and 

8 (ii) in clause (i), by inserting after 

9 ‘‘lobbying firm’’ the following: ‘‘or political 

10 intelligence firm’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting after 

13 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ each place that term ap14 pears the following: ‘‘or political intelligence ac15 tivities’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding subpara18 graph (A), by inserting after ‘‘lobbying ac19 tivities’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel20 ligence activities’’; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

22 after ‘‘lobbying activity’’ the following: ‘‘or 

23 political intelligence activity’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting after 

25 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ each place that term apVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:29 Nov 16, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1871.IS S1871

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1 pears the following: ‘‘or political intelligence ac2 tivities’’; 

3 (D) in paragraph (6), by inserting after 

4 ‘‘lobbyist’’ each place that term appears the fol5 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence consultant’’; 

6 and 

7 (E) in the matter following paragraph (6), 

8 by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence activities’’ 

9 after ‘‘such lobbying activities’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after 

12 ‘‘lobbying contacts’’ the following: ‘‘or political 

13 intelligence contacts’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying con16 tact’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel17 ligence contact’’; and 

18 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying con19 tacts’’ the following: ‘‘and political intel20 ligence contacts’’; and 

21 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting after ‘‘lob22 bying activities’’ each place that term appears the 

23 following: ‘‘or political intelligence activities’’. 


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1 (c) REPORTS BY REGISTERED POLITICAL INTEL2 LIGENCE CONSULTANTS.—Section 5 of the Lobbying Dis3 closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘lob5 bying activities’’ the following: ‘‘and political intel6 ligence activities’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in the matter preceding subpara10 graph (A), by inserting after ‘‘lobbying ac11 tivities’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel12 ligence activities’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (I) by inserting after ‘‘lobbyist’’ 

15 the following: ‘‘or political intelligence 

16 consultant’’; and 

17 (II) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying 

18 activities’’ the following: ‘‘or political 

19 intelligence activities’’; 

20 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

21 after ‘‘lobbyists’’ the following: ‘‘and polit22 ical intelligence consultants’’; and 

23 (iv) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

24 after ‘‘lobbyists’’ the following: ‘‘or political 

25 intelligence consultants’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (i) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying firm’’ 

3 the following: ‘‘or political intelligence 

4 firm’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying activi6 ties’’ each place that term appears the fol7 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence activities’’; 

8 and 

9 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting after 

10 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ each place that term ap11 pears the following: ‘‘or political intelligence ac12 tivities’’; and 

13 (3) in subsection (d)(1), in the matter pre14 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or a political 

15 intelligence consultant’’ after ‘‘a lobbyist’’. 

16 (d) DISCLOSURE AND ENFORCEMENT.—Section 6(a) 

17 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting after ‘‘lob20 bying firms’’ the following: ‘‘, political intelligence 

21 consultants, political intelligence firms,’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or lobbying 

23 firm’’ and inserting ‘‘lobbying firm, political intel24 ligence consultant, or political intelligence firm’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or lobbying 

2 firm’’ and inserting ‘‘lobbying firm, political intel3 ligence consultant, or political intelligence firm’’. 

4 (e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 8(b) of the 

5 Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1607(b)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘or lobbying contacts’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘lobbying contacts, political intelligence activities, or polit8 ical intelligence contacts’’. 

9 (f) IDENTIFICATION OF CLIENTS AND COVERED OF10 FICIALS.—Section 14 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

11 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1609) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR PO14 LITICAL INTELLIGENCE’’ after ‘‘LOBBYING’’; 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence 

16 contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’ each place 

17 that term appears; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or po19 litical intelligence activity, as the case may be’’ 

20 after ‘‘lobbying activity’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR PO23 LITICAL INTELLIGENCE’’ after ‘‘LOBBYING’’; 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence 

2 contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’ each place 

3 that term appears; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or po5 litical intelligence activity, as the case may be’’ 

6 after ‘‘lobbying activity’’; and 

7 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or political 

8 intelligence contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’. 

9 (g) ANNUAL AUDITS AND REPORTS BY COMP10 TROLLER GENERAL.—Section 26 of the Lobbying Disclo11 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1614) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘political intelligence 

14 firms, political intelligence consultants,’’ after 

15 ‘‘lobbying firms’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘lobbying registrations’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘registrations’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘polit19 ical intelligence firms, political intelligence consult20 ants,’’ after ‘‘lobbying firms’’; and 

21 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or political 

22 intelligence consultant’’ after ‘‘a lobbyist’’. 

23 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 Subject to section 4(b), this Act and the amendments 

25 made by this Act shall take effect at the end of the 90- 


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1 day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

Æ 


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