edited by: Shankhneel Sarkar
Last Update: January 25, 2023, 12:06 PM IST
Washington, United States
Sen Josh Hawley, (R-MO) smiles during a US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on security threats to the United States, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US (Image: Reuters)
Act called the Prohibiting Elected Leaders from Securities and Investments Act also known as the Pelosi Act
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a bill earlier this week that, if passed, would ban members of Congress from trading and owning stocks. He named the law the Pelosi Act to taunt the California Democrat, according to a report published by The Washington Post. hill,
The Pelosi Act is an acronym for the Prohibiting Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act. Hawley is trying to revive a legislative push that would decriminalize stock trading by lawmakers. Previous attempts were made to pass the law but it was unsuccessful.
Hawley said: “Members of Congress and their spouses should not use their positions to get rich in the stock market.” He introduced a similar law in 2022.
Several Republican leaders targeted the former speaker and his family and pushed for a ban on stock trading.
Republicans were furious that Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, sold millions of dollars worth of shares in a computer chipmaker as the US House of Representatives prepared to vote on a bill that focused on reinvigorating manufacturing of semiconductors in the US . Pelosis claimed that he sold the shares at a loss hill said in his report.
Richard Burr, a Republican senator from North Carolina, also sold stocks during the COVID-19 pandemic while he was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Members of Congress from the Democratic Party at the time also expressed interest in passing legislation prohibiting stock trades. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed the investigation into Burr without taking any action. hill said in his report.
The two parties have yet to come up with a plan that would garner support from both parties to pass a bill through Congress. Democrats rejected plans to vote on such legislation before the midterm elections in 2022.
A similar bill was also introduced earlier this year by House Representatives Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Texas Republican Chip Roy.
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