Without getting into abstract legal philosophy, I think we can agree that this is effectively about insider trading (literally we're talking about trading on inside information) and insider trading is notoriously difficult to prosecute. Personally I think it's worth creating a law like our insider trading laws, with big punitive sentences to dissuade congresspeople from taking the risk. But I don't expect it to significantly outperform extant insider trading legislation.
I don't see why the laws couldn't be like that, but I take your point.
reply