I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 682 

To prohibit securities and commodities trading based on nonpublic information 

relating to Congress, and to require additional reporting by Members 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2009 

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

and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Agriculture, and Standards of Official Conduct, 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 securities and commodities trading based on nonpublic information relating to Congress, and to require 

additional reporting by Members and employees of Congress of securities transaction, 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’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•HR 682 IH

1 SEC. 2. NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO CON2 GRESS. 

3 (a) SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS.—Section 10 of the 

4 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) 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 the securities of 

10 any issuer while such person is in possession of material 

11 nonpublic information, as defined by the Commission, re12 lating to any pending or prospective legislative action re13 lating to such issuer 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 ‘‘(d) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO

21 OTHER 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 the securities of any issuer while 

26 such person is in possession of material nonpublic 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•HR 682 IH

1 information derived from Federal employment and 

2 relating to such issuer 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 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•HR 682 IH

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) COMMODITIES TRANSACTIONS.—Section 4c of the 

5 Commodities Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6c) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) 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 any commodity 

11 for future delivery while such person is in possession of 

12 material nonpublic information, as defined by the Com13 mission, relating to any pending or prospective legislative 

14 action relating to such commodity 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 ‘‘(i) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION RELATING TO OTHER

22 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 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•HR 682 IH

1 buying or selling any commodity for future delivery 

2 while such person is in possession of material non3 public information derived from Federal employment 

4 and relating to such commodity 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; 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•HR 682 IH

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 SECURITIES 

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 Nov 24 2008 06:11 Jan 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H682.IH H682

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•HR 682 IH

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. TIMELY REPORTING OF SECURITIES TRANS8 ACTIONS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of the Ethics in Gov10 ernment Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following subsection: 

12 ‘‘(l) Within 90 days after the purchase, sale, or ex13 change of any stocks, bonds, commodities futures, or other 

14 forms of securities that are otherwise required to be re15 ported under this Act and the transaction of which in16 volves at least $1000 by any Member of Congress or offi17 cer or employee of the legislative branch required to so 

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

19 of that transaction with the Clerk of the House of Rep20 resentatives in the case of a Representative in Congress, 

21 a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident Commissioner 

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

23 the case of a Senator.’’. 

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

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


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

•HR 682 IH

1 after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI4 TIES UNDER LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclo6 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

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

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

10 political intelligence activities’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting after ‘‘lobbyists’’ the fol12 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence consultants’’; 

13 and 

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

15 paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(17) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.— 

17 The term ‘political intelligence activities’ means po18 litical intelligence contacts and efforts in support of 

19 such contacts, including preparation and planning 

20 activities, research, and other background work that 

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

22 contacts, and coordination with such contacts and 

23 efforts of others. 

24 ‘‘(18) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE CONTACT.— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
9 

•HR 682 IH

1 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘political in2 telligence contact’ means any oral or written 

3 communication (including an electronic commu4 nication) to or from a covered executive branch 

5 official or a covered legislative branch official, 

6 the information derived from which is intended 

7 for use in analyzing securities or commodities 

8 markets, or in informing investment decisions, 

9 and which is made on behalf of a client with re10 gard to— 

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

12 adoption of Federal legislation (including 

13 legislative proposals); 

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

15 adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Ex16 ecutive order, or any other program, policy, 

17 or position of the United States Govern18 ment; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) the administration or execution 

20 of a Federal program or policy (including 

21 the negotiation, award, or administration 

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

23 or license). 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘political in25 telligence contact’ does not include a commuVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:11 Jan 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H682.IH H682

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
10 

•HR 682 IH

1 nication that is made by or to a representative 

2 of the media if the purpose of the communica3 tion is gathering and disseminating news and 

4 information to the public. 

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

6 term ‘political intelligence firm’ means a person or 

7 entity that has 1 or more employees who are polit8 ical intelligence consultants to a client other than 

9 that person or entity. 

10 ‘‘(20) POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE CONSULT11 ANT.—The term ‘political intelligence consultant’ 

12 means any individual who is employed or retained by 

13 a client for financial or other compensation for serv14 ices that include one or more political intelligence 

15 contacts.’’. 

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

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

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) by inserting after ‘‘whichever is 

22 earlier,’’ the following: ‘‘or a political intel23 ligence consultant first makes a political 

24 intelligence contact,’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
11 

•HR 682 IH

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

2 each place that term appears the following: 

3 ‘‘or consultant’’; 

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

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

6 following: ‘‘or consultants’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

8 (i) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying activi9 ties’’ each place that term appears the fol10 lowing: ‘‘and political intelligence activi11 ties’’; and 

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

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

14 intelligence firm’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

17 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ each place that term ap18 pears the following: ‘‘or political intelligence ac19 tivities’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara22 graph (A), by inserting after ‘‘lobbying ac23 tivities’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel24 ligence activities’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
12 

•HR 682 IH

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

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

3 political intelligence activity’’; 

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

5 ‘‘lobbying activities’’ each place that term ap6 pears the following: ‘‘or political intelligence ac7 tivities’’; 

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

9 ‘‘lobbyist’’ each place that term appears the fol10 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence consultant’’; 

11 and 

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

13 by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence activities’’ 

14 after ‘‘such lobbying activities’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (c)— 

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

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

18 intelligence contacts’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying con21 tact’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel22 ligence contact’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying con24 tacts’’ the following: ‘‘and political intel25 ligence contacts’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
13 

•HR 682 IH

1 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting after ‘‘lob2 bying activities’’ each place that term appears the 

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

4 (c) REPORTS BY REGISTERED POLITICAL INTEL5 LIGENCE CONSULTANTS.—Section 5 of the Lobbying Dis6 closure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘lob8 bying activities’’ the following: ‘‘and political intel9 ligence activities’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding subpara13 graph (A), by inserting after ‘‘lobbying ac14 tivities’’ the following: ‘‘or political intel15 ligence activities’’; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

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

18 the following: ‘‘or political intelligence 

19 consultant’’; and 

20 (II) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying 

21 activities’’ the following: ‘‘or political 

22 intelligence activities’’; 

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

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

25 intelligence consultants’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
14 

•HR 682 IH

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

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

3 intelligence consultants’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

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

6 the following: ‘‘or political intelligence 

7 firm’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘lobbying activi9 ties’’ each place that term appears the fol10 lowing: ‘‘or political intelligence activities’’; 

11 and 

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

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

16 (3) in subsection (d)(1), in the matter pre17 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or a political 

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

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

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

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting after ‘‘lob23 bying firms’’ the following: ‘‘, political intelligence 

24 consultants, political intelligence firms,’’; 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
15 

•HR 682 IH

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

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

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

5 firm’’ and inserting ‘‘lobbying firm, political intel6 ligence consultant, or political intelligence firm’’. 

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

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

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

10 ‘‘lobbying contacts, political intelligence activities, or polit11 ical intelligence contacts’’. 

12 (f) IDENTIFICATION OF CLIENTS AND COVERED OF13 FICIALS.—Section 14 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

14 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1609) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR PO17 LITICAL INTELLIGENCE’’ after ‘‘LOBBYING’’; 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence 

19 contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’ each place 

20 that term appears; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or po22 litical intelligence activity, as the case may be’’ 

23 after ‘‘lobbying activity’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
16 

•HR 682 IH

1 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR PO2 LITICAL INTELLIGENCE’’ after ‘‘LOBBYING’’; 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or political intelligence 

4 contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’ each place 

5 that term appears; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or po7 litical intelligence activity, as the case may be’’ 

8 after ‘‘lobbying activity’’; and 

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

10 intelligence contact’’ after ‘‘lobbying contact’’. 

11 (g) ANNUAL AUDITS AND REPORTS BY COMP12 TROLLER GENERAL.—Section 26 of the Lobbying Disclo13 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1614) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘political in15 telligence firms, political intelligence consultants,’’ 

16 after ‘‘lobbying firms’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘polit18 ical intelligence firms, political intelligence consult19 ants,’’ after ‘‘lobbying firms’’; and 

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

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


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
17 

•HR 682 IH

1 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 take effect at the end of the 90-day period beginning on 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS