Should members of Congress be allowed to trade stocks while serving in office?

Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) in 2012, following more than 10 years of allegations of insider trading by members of Congress and staff. Initially introduced in 2006, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) drafted the STOCK Act in response to insider trading allegations against Tony Rudy, a top aide to the onetime House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, as well as an insider trading scandal faced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in 2005. Critics argue that The STOCK Act has failed to achieve its goal of penalizing members for…   insider trading, as no member of Congress has ever been prosecuted under the STOCK Act, despite persistent credible allegations. In addition to the lack of enforcement, the small penalties associated with violations do not incentivize members to comply with the STOCK Act. The penalty for a member of Congress failing to report a financial transaction is a hardly impactful $200.