This week's signing of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which explicitly prohibits public servants from using nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit, has been praised by North Country Rep. Bill Owens.

"It is only fair that any knowledge obtained through public service is not used for the personal gain of members of Congress or their staffs," said Owens, a Plattsburgh Democrat representing New York’s 23rd District in Congress.

"I am pleased to see that the STOCK Act is now law, and I hope Democrats and Republicans can work together more in the future to pass meaningful government reform," Owens said.

Owens cosponsored H.R. 1148, the original House version of the STOCK Act, in November and signed a discharge petition in February demanding House Leadership to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. After the Senate passed its own version of the bill, the House passed an amendment to the legislation by a vote of 417-2.

The STOCK Act clarifies that members of Congress, congressional staff, executive branch officials, and judicial officers are subject to insider trading rules, and requires disclosure of the purchase of sale of stocks, bonds, commodities futures and other securities within 30 days of notification of the transaction.

The bill also expands a ban on pensions for members of Congress convicted of a felony.