Missouri’s Republican senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill earlier this week which if passed would ban Congress members from trading and owning stocks. He named the legislation Pelosi Act in a bid to take a jibe at the California Democrat, according to a report published by the Hill.
The Pelosi Act is an abbreviation for Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act. Hawley is trying to revive a legislative push which curtails stock trading by lawmakers. There were previous attempts to pass the legislation but it was unsuccessful.
Hawley said: “Members of Congress and their spouses shouldn’t be using their position to get rich on the stock market.” He introduced a similar legislation in 2022.
Several Republican leaders have targeted the former speaker and her family and pushed the ban on stock trading.
The Republicans were angered that Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, sold millions of dollars worth of shares of a computer chipmaker when the US House of Representatives were preparing to vote on a bill that focused on strengthening the manufacturing of semiconductors in the US. Pelosis claimed that they sold shares incurring losses, the Hill said in its report.
Republican senator from North Carolina Richard Burr also sold stock during the Covid-19 pandemic while he was the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
At that time, Democratic party’s Congress members also showed interest in passing the legislation barring stock trades. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed the probe on Burr, without taking any action, the Hill said in its report.
Both sides are yet to come with a plan which would gain support from both sides to pass a bill through Congress. Democrats in 2022 dismissed a plan to vote on such legislation ahead of the midterm elections.
A similar bill was also introduced earlier this year by House representatives Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Texas Republican Chip Roy.
Read all the Latest News here
