Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Tuesday reintroduced his bill that would ban lawmakers and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks.
The bill is dubbed the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, bought $5 million in semiconductor chip stocks just days ahead of a House vote giving $52 billion to semiconductor producers, the Daily Mail noted.
Following waves of criticism, Paul Pelosi sold his shares at a loss.
Though the former speaker has said she doesn't discuss stocks with her husband, the Mail noted that footage from her daughter's documentary on her shows that Paul Pelosi is often in the room when she is conducting House business over the phone.
The Pelosis have combined net worth of about $46 million, and Paul Pelosi is a prolific stock trader.
Hawley's bill was originally introduced in the previous Senate session as Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act.
The bill would prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks and require violators to return their profits to the taxpayers. Holdings in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds or U.S. Treasury bonds are exempt.
"For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people," Hawley said on his website.
"As members of Congress, both Senators and Representatives are tasked with providing oversight of the same companies they invest in, yet they continually buy and sell stocks, outperforming the market time and again," he said." "While Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other, hardworking Americans pay the price. The solution is clear: we must immediately and permanently ban all members of Congress from trading stocks."
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