In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday that bans members of Congress and executive branch officials from insider trading.
The House voted 417 to 2 in favor of the bill, with only Republican Reps. John Campbell, R-Calif., and Rob Woodall, R-Ga., voting against the legislation.
The strong support for the bill comes in spite of criticism from both sides of the aisle that Republican leaders bowed to pressure from investment firms and eliminated a key provision that was included in the Senate-passed version of the bill.
The provision required so called "political intelligence" firms to register in the same way as lobbyists, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virg., claimed that the provision raised too many questions and instead included a study of the industry.
The "political intelligence" industry is a growing industry that collects financial information from Congress and sells it to Wall Street firms that make trades on the information.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was particularly upset by the removal of the provision, saying, "It's astonishing and extremely disappointing that the House would fulfill Wall Street's wishes by killing this provision."
"If Congress delays action, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows, just the way Wall Street likes it," he added.
As a result of the differences in the House and Senate versions of the legislation, the bills will likely to be sent to a conference to reconcile the differences.
The passage of the bills comes on the heels of a report from "60 Minutes" showing that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were using inside information in order to enrich themselves.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.