Staff Reports
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is pushing to prevent members of the House and their families from trading or owning stocks while they're in office. He's introduced a bill that would prevent these individuals from doing so.
"As members of Congress, they're supposed to be overseeing the companies that they invest in, but they still continue to buy and sell stocks. According to Senator Josh Hawley, the people of America are paying the price for the actions of Wall Street and Big Tech. The PELOSI Act would prevent members of Congress from engaging in the stock market."
Last year, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi was criticized for her husband's stock trades ahead of a vote that benefited the semiconductor industry.
In addition, Pelosi is not the only one to be accused of insider trading. Several Republican members of Congress have also been accused of doing the same.
The investigation regarding the stock sales of Richard Burr, a former senator from North Carolina, was concluded after the SEC was briefed about the corona virus pandemic.
The PELOSI Act requires members of Congress to divest from their prohibited holdings and place those assets in a blind trust for their entire term. The government would also be tasked with auditing members' compliance within two years after the legislation takes effect.
Members of Congress would be exempted from the ban on stock ownership if they have investments in exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, or US Treasury bonds.
"Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said that members of Congress have been taking advantage of the country's economic system, which he claims has been unfair to the people."
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
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Town Hall.
