WASHINGTON D.C.-Working to hold all members of Congress to the same ethical standards he has voluntarily adopted, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich yesterday helped pass an amendment out of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee requiring the financial disclosures of lawmakers to be hosted in a searchable format on official government websites.

“The point of financial disclosure forms is for lawmakers to be honest and accountable to the American people, dropping these forms in a basement file cabinet doesn’t accomplish that goal,” said Sen. Begich. “Posting a searchable database of these disclosures is a simple effort and publicly sharing these documents should be mandatory not voluntary. Lawmakers should have nothing to hide and this isn’t a game of Texas Hold ‘Em, so let’s put everything on the table for all to see.”

Begich introduced the amendment with Sen. Jon Tester (D – Mont.). It won approval during a markup today in the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, of which Begich is a member, as part of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012(The STOCK Act).

The STOCK Act makes clear that members of Congress are subject to insider trading regulations and may not use non-public information for personal benefit or gain.

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008, Sen. Begich made a commitment to voluntarily post his financial disclosures on his website each year, including the financial interests of his wife. Since 2009, Sen. Begich has led by example, posting his full financial disclosure form annually on his website.

Source: Office of Senator Begich