Nancy Pelosi does not want a ban to be put on Congress preventing them from trading stocks because she makes a lot of money from her and her husband’s investments on a daily basis.
In a press conference, she stated that senators and representatives should do their best to follow the reporting standards that are required by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which was signed into law in 2012, but completely rejected the idea that legislators and their spouses should be banned from trading.
“We are part of a free market economy and we shouldn’t be banned from taking part in that,” Pelosi said.
REPORTER: "Should members of congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in congress?"
PELOSI: "No…We are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that." pic.twitter.com/2SNqSCwFEU
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 15, 2021
Pelosi and her husband, like a lot of others in Congress, have invested lots of money into the stock market and gained millions from shares that are mainly staked in Big Tech stocks like Google’s parent company, Alphabet. She has reported holding stocks in Roblox, Netflix, Microsoft, and recently sold Apple and Facebook shares.
Pelosi is not the only Congress member who profits from trading on some of the very same companies that are called to testify regularly in front of her chamber’s committees. A report recently showed that 49 legislators traded stocks and did not disclose their trades in accordance with the Stock Act. The list is filled with Democrats and Republicans who, despite the law, “offer excuses including clerical errors, ignorance of the law, and mistakes made by an accountant” to help justify them not disclosing their finances.
“It’s completely crazy that Congress members trade individual stocks while still in office,” AOC tweeted. “The influence and access we have should be used for the interest of the public not for our profit. It should not be legal for us to trade individual stock with the information we have access to.”
It is absolutely ludicrous that members of Congress can hold and trade individual stock while in office.
The access and influence we have should be exercised for the public interest, not our profit. It shouldn’t be legal for us to trade individual stock with the info we have. https://t.co/Z3UZej2eC2
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 8, 2021
Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced legislation banning lawmakers and any of their aides from trading in the stock market during their time in office. The bill had support from some Republicans including Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Cloud, they helped introduce it in the House. However, because there are so many legislators with involvement in trading, including some in Democrat leadership roles such as Pelosi, it is highly unlikely that a total ban would ever pass without more pressure.
Author: Scott Dowdy
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