 During the second half of 2011 , Brown wrote the 2011 version of the STOCK Act , a move to ban insider trading in Congress . The act , which was co @-@ written with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ( D @-@ NY ) , would prohibit asset trading by members of Congress ( and their staff ) who have advance knowledge of their assets ' behavior due to their involvement in Congress . The bill was verbally supported by President Barack Obama during his third State of the Union address , and passed a major procedural hurdle in the Senate by a vote of 93 – 2 on January 30 , 2012 . 
