Arlington Heights, IL – February 10, 2012 – Yesterday, freshmen Republican Congressmen Robert Dold (R-10) and Joe Walsh (R-8) both supported the conservative House leadership by voting for what Republicans, Democrats and pundits alike are calling a watered down version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act).One version or another of the STOCK Act has been proposed by Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter for years and this current version, known as S. 2038, was written in January by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). The Senate passed Lieberman’s bill earlier in February.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Tea Party favorite, worked to weaken the bill by removing important bipartisan provisions regarding lobbyists dealing on insider knowledge called “political intelligence” and Members of Congress who directly enrich themselves through legislation.

Dold and Walsh’s fellow Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), called the House GOP moves “astonishing and extremely disappointing” in a statement this week.

“While both Republicans and Democrats are panning these efforts to make Congressional oversight weaker, I am confident that should endorsed Democrats with solid military bona fides like John Tree and Tammy Duckworth be elected in November these types of smoke-filled, back-room shenanigans would no longer be tolerated,” said Rob Nesvacil, president of the Wheeling Township Democrats. “Sadly, both Dold and Walsh have proven time and again that they are all too comfortable with this sort of duplicitous malarkey which only serves to further decay Americans’ trust in the Tea Party-filled House.”

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