Congress Moves to Ban Its Own Insider Trading

Soon, insider trading may be illegal for lawmakers, too. In an effort to boost its historically low approval rating, the Senate will today hold a procedural vote allowing it to later this week pass a bill banning Congress from trading on nonpublic info, or giving that info to others to trade on, the AP reports. Similar legislation is in the works in the House.

The moves follow a series of reports on Congress' insider trading, including a November 60 Minutes piece throwing suspicion on John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, and Spencer Bachus. "We can start restoring some of the faith that's been lost in our government" by making Congress "play by the exact same rules as everyone else," says Kirsten Gillibrand, who wrote the Senate version. In the House, Eric Cantor is trying to expand the bill to hit not just stocks, but land deals and other investments as well. (More insider trading stories.)