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<DIV class=timestamp>December 14, 2011</DIV>
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<H1><NYT_HEADLINE version="1.0" type=" ">Illegal, Just Not on Capitol
Hill</NYT_HEADLINE></H1><NYT_BYLINE></NYT_BYLINE><NYT_TEXT>
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<P>House Republican leaders have foolishly sidetracked <A
title="A Times article"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/business/congress-considers-new-limits-on-insider-trading.html">a
bipartisan ethics bill in Congress</A> to ban members from using inside
information they gain in private hearings and discussions in stock trades.
Insider trading is illegal generally, but Congress’s apparent exception from the
ban was never a concern on Capitol Hill until <A
title="A CBS News video of the "
href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7388130n&tag=contentMain;contentBody"
60="" minutes?="" report?="">a recent report</A> on “60 Minutes” questioned
whether various members were profiting from back-room knowledge. </P>
<P>That report caused lawmakers in both houses to fast-track enactment of an
explicit ban. The House version picked up 225 co-sponsors in a matter of days
after gathering dust for years in the good-ideas hopper. However, committee
action, scheduled this week, was abruptly postponed when Eric Cantor, <A
title="His majority leader site" href="http://www.majorityleader.gov/">the
Republican majority leader</A>, said unnamed members considered the measure
“flawed and being recklessly moved solely in response to media pressure,”
according to Mr. Cantor’s spokesman. </P>
<P>Mr. Cantor said the House needed time to come up with better legislation. He
pulled the rug out from under Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman of the
<A title="Its home page" href="http://financialservices.house.gov/">Financial
Services Committee</A>, who wanted fast action after his stock trading was
criticized in the televised report. </P>
<P>A day after a private committee briefing in 2008 on the looming financial
crisis, Mr. Bachus purchased stock options that proved profitable in the
downturn, according to the “60 Minutes” reading of his financial disclosure
filings. He denied trading on inside information. Privately, some members were
furious at being rushed into repairing Mr. Bachus’s reputation, <A
href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70114.html">according to
Politico</A>. </P>
<P>The Senate has had no second thoughts, and <A
title="http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Press.MajorityNews&ContentRecord_id=3df79072-5056-8059-76ad-37a4d411ae13
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href="http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Press.MajorityNews&ContentRecord_id=3df79072-5056-8059-76ad-37a4d411ae13">its
governmental affairs committee voted Wednesday</A> to approve an insider-trading
ban. The reputation of the entire Congress is on the line if House leaders delay
enacting this sensible and overdue measure. </P><NYT_CORRECTION_BOTTOM>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>__________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
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