Over the past decade, many members of Congress or members of their families have made exquisitely timed stock trades — buying in advance of good news regarding a particular industry or selling in advance of bad news.

The United States has a vast regulatory machine to ensure fair financial markets, including prohibitions against insider trading — the use of advance knowledge for an unfair advantage.

Members of Congress sit on committees with oversight authority regarding just about every major industry, fonts of insider knowledge.

In 2012, Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, STOCK, which precludes members and their spouses from trading on nonpublic information.

The past decade demonstrated that many members of both parties in both houses view the law as advisory. They have made prohibited trades and filed required reports long after supposedly mandatory deadlines.

Members of both houses and both parties have filed several bills to toughen the law. Most recently two senators, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sen. Josh Hawleyof Missouri, introduced the toughest proposal.

It would preclude members of Congress and top administration officials from holding or trading stock, significantly increase required financial reporting by all members and put that data into online searchable databases.

Members of both houses should pass the law to ensure that the privileged information that they receive goes to the public’s benefit rather than their own.

— Tribune News Service