Member of Congress passed legislation last week to ban lawmakers from insider trading, making stock market profits with nonpublic information.

While that sounds good, it’s not as good as it sounds.

The first problem is that Congress would not be dealing with this issue at all were it not for an expose on the CBS television show “60 Minutes” in November that reported several lawmakers appeared to have profitted from stock trades based on nonpublic information.

The second, more general problem with the Stock Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act), is what the proposed legislation will or will not do.

The “60 Minutes” report clearly embarrassed Congress. It’s remarkable that members of Congress could have used information they learned in private meetings or in committee hearings to buy or sell shares in companies, such as military contractors, investment banks or health care firms, that might benefit financially from upcoming changes in a law or a pending government report. But that’s exactly what some lawmakers appear to have done.

Though insider trading is broadly banned, there is a lack of clarity over whether Congress is exempt from existing laws. The bills passed last week are intended to clarify the prohibition and deal with other issues.

Republicans in the House of Representatives appear to have weakened the Senate bill.

The Senate passed the first bill banning insider trading. It banned insider trading by members of Congress, but went further by requiring that people who gather nonpublic information from members of Congress and then sell that information, called “political intelligence,” to investment firms register, just as lobbyists do now

That provision is opposed by Wall Street, hedge funds and the rest of the investment community — so, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives stripped it out of the bill it passed. In its place, the House leaders proposed to form a commission to study the issue.

It’s not hard to see how this loophole might work. Members of Congress don’t need to buy or sell stocks on nonpublic information to make money. They can provide nonpublic information to others who then sell it to investment firms that will make profits on stock trades. Then, the grateful — and wealthier —investment banks or hedge funds can turn around and make generous donations to the lawmaker’s campaign or provide some other token of their appreciation.

A useful provision in the bill relates to disclosure — members of Congress would be required to disclose stock trades and purchase or sale of bonds and commodities futures within 30 to 45 days of the transactions by posting trades on a website for all to see.

The Stock Act would also apply to employees in the executive branch, including the White House.

While disclosure of stock trades would be helpful in exposing or stopping insider trading, a better solution would be to require all members of Congress to place their investments into a blind trust.