It is probably a decent bet to say most Americans believe members of Congress should not come out of office with a higher net worth than when they entered.
After all, a $174,000 salary is far more than most people make on an annual basis – and these politicians do not work as hard (or as many hours) as most folks.
Yet, people like Nancy Pelosi, with close ties to high-ranking people (and most likely…insider info), are the reason a bill to stop stock trading must be put into place.
If Republicans take back the House (and hopefully Senate) during the midterm elections, Leader Kevin McCarthy will look to put a permanent end to the shenanigans.
Here’s the deal, via The Daily Wire:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is reportedly considering instituting restrictions, including a potential “outright ban,” on lawmakers being able to hold or trade stocks if Republicans win back the majority in this year’s midterm elections.
“McCarthy told us his planning on this front is in its early stages, and he hasn’t yet decided on what kind of limitations there may be on stock trades or holdings,” Punchbowl News reported. “One idea would be to force lawmakers to hold only professionally managed mutual funds. Another proposal the GOP leadership is considering would bar lawmakers from holding stocks in companies or industries their committees oversee.”
The report then added, “Other members have advocated for mandatory blind trusts for lawmakers’ holdings. There’s been renewed debate in recent months over putting curbs on lawmakers trading and holding individual stocks. The logic is simple – members and senators often get sensitive information about U.S. policy before it becomes public. Under the STOCK Act, lawmakers and aides are prohibited from trading on such information.”
Pelosi was asked this question by a reporter on December 15: “Madam Speaker, Insider just completed a five‑month investigation finding that 49 Members of Congress and 182 senior Congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, the insider trading law. I’m wondering if you have any reaction to that. And secondly, should Members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?”
The Speaker responded, “I don’t – no, to the second one. Any – we have a responsibility to report in the stock – on the stock. But I don’t – I’m not familiar with that five month review, but if the people aren’t reporting, they should be.”
She then added, “Because this is a free market and people – we are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that.”
WATCH:
On December 30th, Pelosi went on to purchase millions of dollars worth of call options from brand-name companies.
From The Daily Wire:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and husband Paul Pelosi bought millions of dollars worth of call options for stocks just days after she defended members of Congress being able to buy stocks.
More from New York Post:
The Pelosi family’s trades this month include Google and Salesforce call options worth between $500,000 and $1 million each, as well as Roblox call options valued at between $100,000 and $250,000. The duo also bought up between $250,000 and $500,000 in calls for chipmaker Micron Technology and between $100,000 and $250,000 of Disney call options in disclosures that were earlier reported by Congresstrading.com.
If a politician walks out of office with a net worth that vastly exceeds what they went in with, they’re not doing politics right.
This story syndicated with permission from Johnny Salvatore – Trending Politics
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