The STOCK Act signed in 2012 explicitly states that if federal employees use nonpublic information for private profit, they are breaking a federal law. In 19 months, from 2020 to 2021, 52 members of congress and 182 staffers have broken this federal law and face little to no consequences.
Before 2012, the prohibition against insider trading among lawmakers was more of a fuzzy guideline. Now, with the STOCK Act, it is an explicitly fuzzy guideline.
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Bibliography:
Conflicted Congress overview and all related and linked articles on this page, by Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.com/conflicted-congress-key-findings-stock-act-finances-investing-2021-12
https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stock-act-violations-penalties-consequences-2021-12
https://www.businessinsider.com/congressional-staff-stock-act-violations-tracking-impossible-2021-12
https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-members-...[word count]
Official summary of the STOCK Act - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act#Official_summary
Congress staff - https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-staff-violated-stock-act-conflicts-of-interest-possible-2021-12
US losing advantage - https://www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-is-losing-its-competitive-advantage-3306225
loan paiments aides - https://www.businessinsider.com/congressional-staff-student-loan-debt-special-payment-tools-2021-12
American students truly rank - https://observer.com/2018/01/how-american-students-truly-rank-in-international-testing/
lobbying spending - https://www.statista.com/statistics/257337/total-lobbying-spending-in-the-us/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20the%20total%20lobbying,spent%20on%20lobbying%20in%202019.
