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Business Crimes BulletinFeaturesLegislationRegulationWhite Collar Crime

Lessons from the Insider Trading Prohibition Act After Its Likely Demise In the Senate

By Telemachus P. Kasulis
August 01, 2020

For a moment there, it really looked like it was going to happen. After a long and winding road, insider trading reform had reached the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. The Insider Trading Prohibition Act (ITPA) had support on both sides of the aisle. Learned professors had testified about the need for action. Past and present commissioners from the Securities and Exchange Commission had weighed in on the merits of the bill. Proponents from all sides of the criminal justice system called for the need for greater clarity in insider trading regulation and enforcement. On Dec. 5, 2019, the House voted to pass the ITPA with 410 yeas against only 13 nays. The hour was at hand.

Then the bill went to the Senate and vanished. It was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in December and has never been seen since. By all accounts, insider trading reform is likely a dead letter for the foreseeable future.

What happened? As with many things in Congress, it's a little hard to say. The impeachment proceedings at the beginning of the year were a significant time commitment — and their partisan nature may have impacted the likelihood of bipartisan legislation. The investigation launched by the Department of Justice into potential insider trading by a number of senators may have dimmed enthusiasm for the bill. And the Senate has been busy on other matters, including addressing many of President Donald Trump's judicial nominations before the fall elections.

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