Sen. Burr: STOCK Act was a waste of time

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) on Wednesday defended his vote against the STOCK Act in the Senate, pointing out that the bill consumed a week of the Senate's time and does little more than reaffirm that it is illegal for members of Congress to engage in illegal insider trading schemes. 

"This bill was more about a broadly disliked Congress trying to improve their approval rating than it was about anything substantive, and it wasted a week of time and taxpayer money to do nothing but codify a law that is already on the books," wrote Burr in a letter posted in the Greenville, N.C., Daily Reflector on Wednesday. 

Burr, along with Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), were the only members of the Senate to vote against the bill on Feb. 2.

Burr pointed out in his letter that it is already illegal for congressmen — or anyone — to engage in insider trading. 

"Insider trading activity is illegal for all Americans including government employees, members of Congress and congressional staff," he wrote.

Burr's letter was apparently in response to criticism he has taken for his vote against the bill, which many in Congress proclaimed as a giant step toward transparency and self-regulation.

For example, one letter, also published in the Daily Reflector, demanded an explanation from Burr and called the vote "a disgrace."