I had no clue Congressman Nugent had my name or mailing addy. I am a registered Dem but no matter about that, this idea he relayed to me IMO is a pretty darn good one. (I hope) Are they willing to do something? What's up with this and forgive my partisian distrust.
I don't know where he got my name although I have sent some emails and things his way but this is a bit unusal because this came out of the blue and was personalized.
Take a look and tell me what you think. It is a start for the money to get out of DC. At least the illegal money. Go below the jump and see the letter. I think I want to meet with this congressman. If there is anyway there is some ethics up there on that side of the aisle then I want to meet them. Still, the letter appears to dig at the President but that would apply to future presidents as well. Did 60 minutes make them afraid? Did someone's article here grab their attention. Just wanted you to know some of these people are pretty scared it appears.
Did we start a petition or something on here regarding the 60 minute piece? We do a lot of contacting our reps......and it's hard to keep up. I would like your input and I need to read that bill in it's entirety. On the surface it sounds good, wonder where the shoe dropping is in there?
December 19, 2011
Dear Amanda,
As many of you saw, or have heard by now, "60 Minutes" ran a story recently about insider trading in Congress. For many Americans, the story reinforced the lack of trust that they have in Congress.
I am one of those Americans.
Aside from all of the issues of hyper-partisanship and prolonged policy debates, the issue of trust is something that Congress cannot ignore any longer. I intend to help fix that.
The "60 Minutes" story referred specifically to the STOCK Act, which is a piece of legislation designed to make it clear that insider trading by members of Congress is illegal, unethical, and prohibited. The legislation also attempts to make it easier for the Department of Justice and the SEC to enforce violations, as well as the House and Senate Ethics committees.
This particular piece of legislation has been languishing in Congress for years. The concerns that Congress keeps tripping over are related to the enforcement piece: First, there is a constitutional concern about whether the executive branch, operating through the Department of Justice, should be able to subpoena meeting records - who said what and when, etc - between members of Congress and prosecute based on things that are otherwise covered under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution.
Beyond those concerns, and based on past history, there are many of us who are skeptical of Congress' ability to police itself through the Ethics Committee.
I think some of these concerns have merit and some are overblown. In either case, I am sick of the all of the stalling on this legislation and have decided to offer an alternative that there shouldn't be any argument about.
I introduced legislation on Tuesday, H.R. 3639 - The Prevent Insider Trading by Elected Officials Act, that would require the President, Vice President, and members of Congress to place their funds in a qualified blind trust upon taking office.
It's that simple.
If you don't have control over your investments, and indeed don't even know what you are invested in, you can't profit from any insider information you may get as an elected official.
It's worth noting that the STOCK Act that "60 Minutes" referred to and other pieces of legislation on this same subject don't apply to the President. Under current law, he is not required to place his assets in a blind trust, although most presidents choose to do so. My legislation would require it.
I've had a good response from colleagues so far and will keep you posted as the debate progresses. In any case, a lot of folks have been asking me what I was going to do to fix this insider trading problem, so I wanted to take a moment to answer just that.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call the office at 202-225-1002 or send me an email through my website at http://nugent.house.gov. While you're there, I hope you'll also consider signing up for our weekly 5th District update on legislation hitting the House floor. I call it the SITREP - the military and law enforcement shorthand for "situation report". It's a simple, to-the-point rundown of what's going on in DC. The media can't cover everything in 30-second sound bites and what they do cover often misses the point. This weekly email is intended to fill in the gaps - especially as it relates to Central Florida. It's a quick and easy way to make sure you know more than your friends and colleagues about what is going on in Washington. If you have a minute, consider signing up at the website. It's right there on the homepage.
And finally, as always, if there is anything else I can do to be of service, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Richard Nugent
Member of Congress