OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Republican senator has introduced a cleverly worded piece of legislation that would severely restrict and regulate trades and investments made by members of Congress and appeared to be inspired by the former Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri will introduce the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act,” which amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 prohibiting “transactions involving certain financial instruments by Members of Congress,” according to the language of the bill.
In a Tuesday tweet, Hawley introduced the measure and said it bans stock trading and stock ownership.
“Members of Congress and their spouses shouldn’t be using their position to get rich on the stock market – today I’m introducing legislation to BAN stock trading & ownership by members of Congress. I call it the PELOSI Act,” the Missouri Republican wrote in a post containing a screenshot of the bill.
Members of Congress and their spouses shouldn’t be using their position to get rich on the stock market – today l’m introducing legislation to BAN stock trading & ownership by members of Congress. I call it the PELOSI Act pic.twitter.com/aIXNwSnTvW
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 24, 2023
“For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people,” a statement from Hawley said.
“As members of Congress, both Senators and Representatives are tasked with providing oversight of the same companies they invest in, yet they continually buy and sell stocks, outperforming the market time and again,” his statement continued. “While Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other, hardworking Americans pay the price. The solution is clear: we must immediately and permanently ban all members of Congress from trading stocks.”
In addition to barring members from “holding, acquiring, or selling stocks or equivalent economic interests during their tenure in elected office,” Hawley’s bill, which will face tough sledding in the Democrat-controlled Senate, would give members six months to “divest any prohibited holdings or place those holdings in a blind trust for the remainder of their tenure in office.”
The bill comes after a report last fall detailing how Paul Pelosi managed to amass a $140 million fortune in the stock market since 2008, a few years after his wife became Speaker for the first time, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The report noted a couple of “fortuitous” trades in recent months:
Pelosi has been dogged by allegations that her husband, Paul Pelosi, trades stocks on inside information gleaned from her position in Congress. In March, Paul Pelosi exercised options to buy up to $5 million worth of Tesla stock as the speaker pushed for electric vehicle subsidies, the Washington Free Beacon reported. And in June, Paul Pelosi exercised call options to buy up to $5 million in the graphics card manufacturer Nvidia just weeks before the House considered a bill to provide more than $50 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers.
Initially, Nancy Pelosi opposed legislation banning members of Congress from stock trading, claiming they also have a right to participate in the free market economy. But after members of her own party balked, she changed her tune.
Now that she’s no longer speaker, last week, several Democrats once again jumped on board with passing a new bill that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) said she will reintroduce a bill co-sponsored by Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy called the Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act, which was initially proposed in 2020, that would require lawmakers to place certain investments in a blind trust.
“Our TRUST in Congress Act would stop Members of Congress from trading individual stocks while receiving confidential information as part of their jobs. That’s why @Public_Citizen agrees that this bipartisan reform is necessary to close the door on potential abuses of power,” Spanberger tweeted.
“By creating a firewall between Members of Congress and their investments, this bill would prevent Members of Congress from profiting off their influence and access to information on Capitol Hill,” Spanberger previously said in a statement.
Our TRUST in Congress Act would stop Members of Congress from trading individual stocks while receiving confidential information as part of their jobs.
That’s why @Public_Citizen agrees that this bipartisan reform is necessary to close the door on potential abuses of power. pic.twitter.com/M5Y4D79hpR
— Rep. Abigail Spanberger (@RepSpanberger) January 12, 2023
Roy sent a letter to Pelosi in December over her lack of urgency to at least hold a vote on the STOCK Act, noting that he worked with a member of her party — Spanberger — on the bill.
