House bans federal lawmakers from insider trading

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday joined the Senate in voting to explicitly prohibit members of Congress and other top officials from making investments on insider information. But an effort to bridle purveyors of Capitol Hill political intelligence could delay the bill's enactment.

House Republicans stripped out provisions from the Senate bill that would:

—Treat people who sell inside information about Congress like lobbyists and make them file reports detailing what they spend and with whom they talk.

— Restore the tools to prosecutors to bring public corruption cases against state and federal officials.

The Senate is unlikely to accept those changes, according to a Democratic leadership aide speaking on condition of anonymity because no final decision has been made. That would mean negotiators would have to find a compromise agreeable to both houses before the bill could be signed into law. President Barack Obama has already said he would sign it.

The bill passed the House by a 417-2 vote just a week after the Senate approved its version 96-3. The lopsided votes illustrate how members of both houses are united in trying to dig Congress out from dismal approval ratings.

As much as anything, the bill is a response to a CBS "60 Minutes" segment in November raising questions about lawmakers enriching themselves through investments based on nonpublic information they gleaned in their jobs. Lawmakers and other public officials already are covered by laws prohibiting insider trading.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the overwhelming vote "puts some pressure on the Senate" to accept the House bill. He said the Senate-added provisions stray from the bill's main purpose of winning back the public's trust — and are "outside of what we do and who we are."

Senior executive branch officials already have tougher ethics rules than members of Congress. Lawmakers said they decided to include them in the bill's coverage to create a level ethical playing field for all federal policymakers. About 28,000 executive branch officials file public, annual financial disclosure forms — the same as members of Congress and their top aides.

Under the House bill, lawmakers, their aides and the other top policymakers would have to disclose to the public new financial transactions within 30 or 45 days from when they occurred, depending on the circumstances. The Senate bill requires disclosure within 30 days. Cantor's office said the language was broad enough to cover real estate deals and other investments beyond buying and selling stock.