Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff is looking forward to introducing a bill that would prevent congressional lawmakers and their families from trading or holding individual stocks during their tenures as elected representatives.
This comes as a leftist rebuke to Pelosi, whose husband was found making fortunes with big tech stocks.
Pelosi grilled for defending her husband’s stock portfolio
Ossoff is currently finding a Republican co-sponsor to bring the ethics bill to the US Senate.
This will bar not only lawmakers, but also their spouses and immediate family members, from trading stocks, hence reducing the opportunity of the conflict of interest.
It can also ask lawmakers to put all of their assets in a blind trust before assuming office, something which Ossoff did himself after getting elected in January 2021.
This is a major leftist deride to financial practices followed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who defended it publicly, despite the fact the business interest can urge lawmakers from getting insider information from their elective offices.
Grant Stinchfield blasts Nancy Pelosi for "pulling the strings to keep her stock advantage" as a the Speaker of the House. @Stinchfield1776. pic.twitter.com/wdbSYrEeQS
— Newsmax (@newsmax) January 11, 2022
While defending her bid, Pelosi said the United States is a free market economy and everyone should have an equal opportunity in participating in that.
Although she does not hold any stock herself, the stock portfolio of her husband swelled over time. It managed to reach unprecedented limits by investing in tech firms like Apple, Google, Disney, and Amazon.
Pelosi earlier claimed she had no knowledge about her husband’s stock dealings.
According to the current law, spouses of American lawmakers are allowed to trade in entities that their partners regulate sitting in Congress.
However, under the STOCK Act of 2012, using inside information for stock trading is illegal. Lawmakers are bound to report any profit to Congress within 45 days.
UPDATE: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decries corporate greed, but that hasn’t stopped her from raking in as much as $30 million personally from insider stock trades on the very Big Tech companies she oversees in Congress. https://t.co/jctdfLCcTR
— Newsmax (@newsmax) January 10, 2022
Thus, Pelosi opined she reported her husband’s profit, and if any lawmaker is not reporting it, that should be a matter of concern.
As per the 2018 personal financial disclosure, Pelosi is the sixth richest member of Congress with an estimated net worth of $114 million.
Americans opined against lawmakers stock trading practices
According to a poll reported by The Hill, almost 75 percent of voters think lawmakers should not be allowed to trade in stocks, believing it gives them an unfair advantage over others.
A group named the Convention of States Action conducted the research, in which only five percent of voters agreed lawmakers should be allowed to trade stocks.
Another 19 percent did not opine. Meanwhile, the disapproval of lawmakers’ stock trading was bipartisan, as even 70 percent of Democrats rejected the practice.
Mark Meckler, the president of the group that conducted the polls, stated voters from all parties are against congressional lawmakers indulging in the trading practice and Americans want to end this once and for all.
Far-left Democratic Representative AOC also pushed back against Pelosi’s opinion, saying congressional lawmakers write crucial policies, so they should be banned from trading stocks.
