A Senate committee holds a hearing on insider trading by members of Congress and their staffs. The committee examines two proposals that would ban lawmakers and their staffs from stock trading based on information not available to the public.
The issue gained more exposure after CBS' 60 Minutes broadcast an in-depth report on the issue.
In his opening statement, Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said "Whether or not there is conclusive evidence (that insider trading has occurred)...there ought to be a law that explicitly deters such unethical and illegal activities by members of Congress."
Chairman Lieberman invited Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Scott Brown (R-MA) to testify on the topic. Each has proposed a measure to ban lawmakers from using non-public information for buying, selling and trading stocks.
Public interest advocates and law professors also testify.