Tester hails STOCK Act passage

Senator calls vote ‘a triumph of Montana values’

(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act passed the Senate by a vote of  96 to 3.  The STOCK Act bans members of Congress and their employees from using knowledge gained from their Congressional work for personal financial benefit:

“Today’s vote is a triumph of Montana values.  No one who works in Congress should be using privileged information to make themselves richer.  Montanans should hold their representatives in Congress to the highest standard, and it’s my honor and responsibility to support more accountability and transparency in Congress.”

Tester introduced an early version of the STOCK Act after media reports raised the possibility of members of Congress using knowledge gained from their work to make business transactions. 

Tester specifically amended today’s bill to require financial disclosures filed by Members of Congress be made available online—adding to his efforts to increase transparency. 

The bill also included a bipartisan amendment that Tester supported to prohibit bonuses to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives while the housing agencies remain in conservatorship.  Tester this week sponsored legislation that would return the compensation of senior executives at Fannie and Freddie and put the salaries of those agencies’ employees in line with other federal employees.

Tester, a steadfast advocate for more accountability in Congress, is also sponsoring a Constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision that allows corporations to spend unlimited money on political campaigns with no transparency.

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