The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday to new curbs on illegal insider trading by legislators and other government officials, despite complaints from Democrats and some Republicans that the main anti-bribery provisions were dropped.

Bill, to ensure lawmakers do not take advantage of non-public knowledge they gain through their positions, it is the larger effort to crack down on personal relationships Congress in the year. Lawmakers have seized this medium rating that continue to probe new lows.

The House Bill does not include a plan passed the Senate and to impose new regulations on Washington insiders who collect “political intelligence” on pending legislation from lawmakers and their aides and sell it on Wall street.

It also lacked the Senate proposals to equip the new legal tools prosecutors to prosecute public corruption cases and to ban all gifts to public officials worth more than $ 1,000.

House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor defended the bill, saying the vote demonstrated bipartisan support 417-2. As the Senate version, it requires lawmakers, their staff and senior members of the executive agencies to disclose stock transactions within 30 days.

Democrats – none of whom voted against the measure – is committed to restore the deleted provisions before the bill is sent to President Barack Obama, who promised a quick signature.

VALIDATION EFFECT

Even without the language that would require intelligence policies to register under lobbying laws, some experts say, the bill will change how Capitol Hill works.

Congressional staffers, who freely trade gossip about legislative relations over coffee, cocktails and in the corridors of the Capitol back, may begin to fall silent for fear of overthrow “insider” information that could trigger investigations harmful, said Michael Mayhew, founder of Integrity Research Associates, which advises fund managers on compliance issues research.

“The information was the currency in Washington DC, and they will learn that some of what’s going to be out of bounds,” he said. “This will change behavior.”

However, the bill clean-government has attracted massive support as legislators seek to polish their images after the fighting villains more tax and spend Americans soured on Congress.

But even a bill to reaffirm public confidence in Congress has failed to silence the partisan bickering usual.

PELOSI AVAILABLE

Many Democrats accused Cantor of caving in to Wall Street falling provision to force the registration of political intelligence agents.

“We are missing a huge gap leaving out the provision on political intelligence – $ 100 million industry,” said Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.

Cantor argued that the provision was too broad, political intelligence was too difficult to define and the implications for civil liberties need further study.

He said he had strengthened the bill, in part by the inclusion of a provision explicitly prohibiting legislators and officials in federal agencies and independent regulatory agencies to have preferential access to the first calls Public stock.

Republicans called the “disposition Pelosi,” a reference to a CBS “60 Minutes” report on the husband of the House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi buy shares of Visa Inc. IPO in 2008 as tougher regulations on credit cards were pending before Congress. Pelosi, who denied any special access or conflict of interest, said she supported the provision.

The bill also specifies that legislators are subject to the same Securities and Exchange Commission rules prohibiting trading on non-public, or “insider” information. While they are not necessarily excluded before, in conflict with the rights of legislators debate could make prosecution more difficult.