I 

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112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1148 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2011 

Mr. WALZ of Minnesota (for himself and Ms. SLAUGHTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, 

and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, House Administration, 

the Judiciary, and Ethics, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 RELATING TO CON7 GRESS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact8 ment of this subsection, the Commission shall by rule pro9 hibit any person from buying or selling any commodity 

10 for future delivery or swap while such person is in posses11 sion of material nonpublic information, as defined by the 

12 Commission, relating to any pending or prospective legis13 lative action relating to such commodity if— 

14 ‘‘(1) such information was obtained by reason 

15 of such person being a Member or employee of Con16 gress; or 

17 ‘‘(2) such information was obtained from a 

18 Member or employee of Congress, and such person 

19 knows that the information was so obtained. 

20 ‘‘(i) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO OTHER

21 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 270 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

24 Commission shall by rule prohibit any person from 

25 buying or selling any commodity for future delivery 

26 or swap while such person is in possession of mateVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:30 Nov 03, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1148.IH H1148

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1 rial nonpublic information derived from Federal em2 ployment and relating to such commodity if— 

3 ‘‘(A) such information was obtained by 

4 reason of such person being an employee of an 

5 agency, as such term is defined in section 

6 551(1) of title 5, United States Code; or 

7 ‘‘(B) such information was obtained from 

8 such an employee, and such person knows that 

9 the information was so obtained. 

10 ‘‘(2) MATERIAL NONPUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

11 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘material 

12 nonpublic information’ means any information that 

13 an employee of an agency (as such term is defined 

14 in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code) 

15 gains by reason of Federal employment and that 

16 such employee knows or should know has not been 

17 made available to the general public, including infor18 mation that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is routinely exempt from disclosure 

20 under section 552 of title 5, United States 

21 Code, or otherwise protected from disclosure by 

22 statute, Executive order, or regulation; 

23 ‘‘(B) is designated as confidential by an 

24 agency; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) has not actually been disseminated to 

2 the general public and is not authorized to be 

3 made available to the public on request.’’. 

4 (b) SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS.—Section 10 of the 

5 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO CON8 GRESS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact9 ment of this subsection, the Commission shall by rule pro10 hibit any person from buying or selling the securities or 

11 security-based swaps of any issuer while such person is 

12 in possession of material nonpublic information, as defined 

13 by the Commission, relating to any pending or prospective 

14 legislative action relating to such issuer if— 

15 ‘‘(1) such information was obtained by reason 

16 of such person being a Member or employee of Con17 gress; or 

18 ‘‘(2) such information was obtained from a 

19 Member or employee of Congress, and such person 

20 knows that the information was so obtained. 

21 ‘‘(e) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

22 OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 270 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

25 Commission shall by rule prohibit any person from 


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1 buying or selling the securities or security-based 

2 swaps of any issuer while such person is in posses3 sion of material nonpublic information derived from 

4 Federal employment and relating to such issuer if— 

5 ‘‘(A) such information was obtained by 

6 reason of such person being an employee of an 

7 agency, as such term is defined in section 

8 551(1) of title 5, United States Code; or 

9 ‘‘(B) such information was obtained from 

10 such an employee, and such person knows that 

11 the information was so obtained. 

12 ‘‘(2) MATERIAL NONPUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

13 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘material 

14 nonpublic information’ means any information that 

15 an employee of an agency (as such term is defined 

16 in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code) 

17 gains by reason of Federal employment and that 

18 such employee knows or should know has not been 

19 made available to the general public, including infor20 mation that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is routinely exempt from disclosure 

22 under section 552 of title 5, United States 

23 Code, or otherwise protected from disclosure by 

24 statute, Executive order, or regulation; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is designated as confidential by an 

2 agency; or 

3 ‘‘(C) has not actually been disseminated to 

4 the general public and is not authorized to be 

5 made available to the public on request.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF 

7 REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING FINANCIAL 

8 TRADING BASED ON NONPUBLIC INFORMA9 TION. 

10 Rule XXIII (known as the ‘‘Code of Official Con11 duct’’) of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 

12 amended by redesignating clause 18 as clause 19 and by 

13 inserting after clause 17 the following new clause: 

14 ‘‘18. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commis15 sioner, officer, or employee of the House shall not— 

16 ‘‘(a) disclose material nonpublic informa17 tion relating to any pending or prospective leg18 islative action relating to any publicly traded 

19 company if that Member, Delegate, Resident 

20 Commissioner, officer, or employee has reason 

21 to believe that the information will be used to 

22 buy or sell the securities of such publicly traded 

23 company based on such information; or 

24 ‘‘(b) disclose material nonpublic informa25 tion relating to any pending or prospective legVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:30 Nov 03, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1148.IH H1148

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1 islative action relating to any commodity if that 

2 Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, offi3 cer, or employee has reason to believe that the 

4 information will be used to buy or sell such 

5 commodity for future delivery based on such in6 formation.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON IMPLEMENTATION. 

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

9 the House of Representatives shall hold a hearing on the 

10 implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Com11 mission of subsections (h) and (i) of section 4c of the Com12 modity Exchange Act (as added by section 2(b) of this 

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

14 House of Representatives shall hold a hearing on the im15 plementation by the Securities Exchange Commission of 

16 subsections (d) and (e) of section 10 of the Securities Ex17 change Act of 1934 (as added by section 2(a) of this Act). 

18 (b) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Sub19 section (a) is enacted— 

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

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

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

23 such rules shall supersede any other rule of the 

24 House only to the extent that rule is inconsistent 

25 therewith; and 


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1 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

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

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

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

5 the case of any other rule of the House. 

6 SEC. 5. TIMELY REPORTING OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. 

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

8 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following subsection: 

10 ‘‘(l) Within 90 days after the purchase, sale, or ex11 change of any stocks, bonds, commodities futures, or other 

12 forms of securities that are otherwise required to be re13 ported under this Act and the transaction of which in14 volves at least $1000 by any Member of Congress or offi15 cer or employee of the legislative branch required to so 

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

17 of that transaction with the Clerk of the House of Rep18 resentatives in the case of a Representative in Congress, 

19 a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident Commissioner 

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

21 the case of a Senator.’’. 

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

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

24 after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. 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 01:30 Nov 03, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1148.IH H1148

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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. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 Subject to section 5(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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